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TREATISE 



ON 



RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE J 



IN WHICH ITS 



A^JTURJS, EFIDJ^JS/VES AND ADVAKTAGES, 



ARE CONSIDERED 



BY CHARLES BUCK 



" Tribulation liiorketh patience, and patience experience j 
and experience, hope : And hope tnaketh not ashatned ; be- 
cause the loi:e of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the 
Holy Ghost liihich is given unto us." Paul. p. 2 7. 



FROM THE SECOND LONDON EDITION. 



BOSTOjY: 

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY LINCOLN & EDMANDS, 

No. 53, Cornhili. 
1810. 



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31881: 






ADVERTISEMENT 

TO THE SECOND LONDON EDITION. 

THE Author of this Treatise is here 
desirous of expressing his gratitude to 
God for the favourable reception it has 
met with. The second Edition is now 
presented to the Public with a few cor- 
rections and improvements.— That it may 
prove a lasting blessing to every Reader 
is his most sincere prayer. 

April 30th, 1807, 



CONTENTS. 

CHAP. I. Page 

On the Nature of Religious Experience in general. 5 

CHAP. II. 

The Advantages of Experience 26 

CHAP. III. 

The Young Christian's Experience .47' 

CHAP. IV. 

Experience of the Christian in Middle Age. ... 68 

CHAP. V. 

Distressing Experience 85 

CHAP. VI. 

On Happy Experience 108 

CHAP. VII. 

Remembrance of Past Experience 141 

CHAP. VIII. 

On the Relation of Experience 162 

CHAP. IX. 

The Aged Christian's Experience 180 

CHAP. X. 

Dying Experience 19T 

CHAP. XI. 

Advice respecting Experience 220 

CHAP. XII. 

The Evil of the Want of Experience. 250 



A TREATISE 



ON 



RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. 



CHAP. I. 

THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE IN 
GENERAL. 

THE religion of Jesus Christ forms a most 
beautiful and complete system, worthy the investi- 
gation of the wise, the admiration of the righteous, 
and the reverence of all. It is not, however, a sys- 
tem formed for the mere purpose of speculation. 
There are many grand objects in nature which 
strike us with wonder, many specious schemes in 
philosophy which court our attention, and man^^ 
productions of art which gratify our curiosity ; 
which, after all, leave us without that aid v 
our present imperfect state requires. But th 
vine scheme not only claims our regard, as 
sisting of every thing great and sublime, but is w 
rairably adapted to our wants and circumstances a. 
fallen, helpless creatures. It is not, therefore, an 
object, the beauty of which merely presents itself 
to the mind, but contains blessings, promises, and 
prospects, suited to the heart : hence arises the 
necessity and propriety of experip:nce. The re- 
port of these blessings, or the intelligence that pro- 
vision is made for guilty man, can be of no avail, 
without a real participation of them. We must 
not perceive only, but we must feel ; and,- feeling, 
of course we experience. 
B 



6 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

Nothing, however, is moi'| common than to de- 
spise what is termed religious experience. Infi- 
dels sneer, the cold hearted condemn, and the un- 
godly ridicule it. Being unacquamted with it 
themselves^ they suppose it is all the work of im- 
agination, or the heat of enthusiasm, in others. 
But it seems not a little remarkable, that, while 
the term is admitted when applied to those parts 
of science which are founded on sensible trial, it 
should be rejected when applied to religion ! Why 
should not experimental divinity be equally as rea- 
sonable as experimental philosophy ? Indeed, we 
must be at a loss to conceive what real religion is 
v/ithout experience ; for, however excellent it 
may be as a theory, we know it is nothing except 
it engage the affections and regulate the conduct. 
It is true, it does not refuse the exercise of the 
understanding ; it does not discard investigation : 
calls with more ardent motives to purity of 
pie, devotedness of mind, lively emotions 
seful exertions, than it insists on a pursuit 
-Te speculative notions, or knowledge which 
not at all interest the feelings or impress the 
.art. And, indeed, what is the intelligent mind, 
the acute reasoner, the learned critic, the man 
that can collect, judge, review, arrange, and re- 
peat, if he be without experience, when compared 
to him, who, with a common understanding, en- 
ters with all the energies of his soul into the very 
spirit and enjoyment of divine truth ? The former 
beholds the beautiful object, discerns its different 
features, and admires its just proportions ; but 
the latter does more :— .he actually possesses it as 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 7 

"his own, lives under its influence, and is transform- 
ed into its delightful image. 

It must not, however, be understood, that there 
can be genuine experience without knowledge, al- 
though there may be knowledge without experi- 
ence. The truly religious are not left in a state of 
ignorance : they are said " to be called out of 
darkness into God's marvellous light ;" " to have 
the eyes of their understanding enlightened, that 
they may know what is the hope of their calling, 
and what the riches of the glory of his inherit- 
ance of the saints/' 1 Pet. ii. 9. Eph. i. 18. 
Before there can be any experience, therefore, 
spiritual life and light must be communicated ; for 
a dead man might as well be supposed to feel, as 
for any one to have a gracious experience without 
being regenerated by the power of divine grace. 

Here, then, we may form some idea of the mind 
and character of the christian, whose diversified ex- 
perience we are about to describe. He is one who 
is illuminated by the Divine Spirit, his heart is 
renovated, and deeply impressed with a sense of 
the importance of divine things : he rests not in 
the cold assent of the understanding, neither is he 
carried away by strange and enthusiastic notiojis. 
He is a happy example of light and love : he per- 
ceives the excellency and suitability of spiritual ob- 
jects, possesses an ardent attachment to them, 
and feels their divine energy on his soul : and 
hence it is that his religion is of an experimental 
nature. 

Now, to prove that this is not the effect of a 
weak mind or a disordered fancy, as many suppose, 
we need only appeal to the following scriptures^ 



8 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

all which have a reference to religion, as some- 
thing to be experienced as well as to be known. 
^' Taste and see that the Lord is good. Eat^ O 
friends ; drink abundantly, O beloved. Ho, every 
one that thirsteth^ come ye to the waters ; and he 
that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat ; yea, 
come buy wine and milk, without money and with- 
out price. Christ in you the hope of glory. He 
effectually worketh m them that believe. Ye are 
manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, min- 
istered by us, written not with ink, but with the 
Spirit of the living God ; not in tables of stone, 
but in fleshly tables of the heart.'^ Ps. xxxiv. 8. 
Cant. V. 1. Is. Iv. 1. Col. i. 27- 1 Thess. ii. 13. 
2 Cor. iii. 3. 

But, before we proceed, it is necessary to re- 
mark, that we shall not confine the term exfierience 
to the enjoyment only of the blessings of the gospel, 
but shall take it in a more enlarged sense, as refer- 
ring to all that knowledge which the christian de- 
rives from his various trials or circumstances, and 
all those feelings occasioned by his being in a state 
of warfare with the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

And, first, we shall begin with what he feels 
from the view he has of his own heart. This he 
finds to be, as the scripture represents, "deceitful 
above all things, and desperately wicked.'' Jer, 
xvii. 9. He does not boast, as he once did, of an 
innocent nature, a sincere intention, a good heart ; 
but confesses himself ia sinful creature, unworthy 
of the divine favour, and, without the interposition 
of sovereign mercy, exposed to endless ruin. He 
now takes cognizance of the secret workings of his 
mind 5 he views with self abasement the pride^^^ 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 9 

envy, vanity, worldly mindedness, and folly, of his 
corrupt nature. He laments over the sinful de- 
sires, cold affections, wandering thoughts, and evil 
passions of his soul, and with the apostle exclaims, 
" O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me 
from the body of this death ?" Rom. vii. 24. He 
clearly perceives that the picture of fallen humani- 
ty, as drawn by the divine hand, " that every imag- 
ination of the thought of the heart is only evil, and 
that continually," Gen. vi. 5, is as true as it is aw- 
ful and affecting. Nor does the regenerating influ- 
ence of divine grace entirely destroy these corrupt 
tions. On the contrary, in proportion as he re- 
ceives light, and increases in divine knowledge, the 
more he is led to see his own sinfulness. Indeed, 
the all-wise God does not discover to him all the 
depravity of his heart at once, as this would sink 
him into despair. He feels, however, more and 
more of it as he proceeds. He is still deceived by 
its vain pretensions, bewildered by its perpetual in- 
constancy, and distressed by its evil propensities. 
" Wo is me," is his language, " that I sojourn in 
Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar." Ps. 
cxx. 5. He sustains a painful conflict, mourns 
that he serves his Lord with such little fervour, 
struggles hard with his powerful, inbred foes, la- 
bours for a greater conformity to the divine will, 
and prays that he may still persevere in the midst 
of all that opposition which arises not only from 
outward evils, but internal depravity. 

As he advances in his journey heavenward, he 
experiences the vanity, mutability, and emptiness 
of the world. His understanding being enlighten- 
ed, he sees the excellency o/, and his will being re- 
B 2 



10 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

newedj he possesses a taste for those divine things 
which are so far superior to all earthly good. He 
has, indeed, the same natural feelings in common 
with others ; is a creature of the same wants ; re- 
quires the same supports, and is capable of the 
same enjoyment of temporal blessings as those 
around him ; yet he is taught to view all these 
things in a different light to what they do, who place 
all their felicity in them. While they make them 
their portion, he gratefully considers them as the 
little comfortable accommodations by the way ; 
while they idolize them on the one hand, or abuse 
them on the other, he uses them with caution, 
and passes on. He remembers that he is in a 
world that cannot constitute his happiness ; a world 
where all things are fading away ; a world never 
designed to be his perpetual abode, or final happi- 
ness. Yea, he has been convinced by his own ex- 
perience, of the impropriety of placing confidence 
in creature comforts or sublunary good. Like 
others, he has been tempted at times to sit down 
by the way ; to listen to the fascinating but decep- 
tive song of the prosperous worldling ; and to im- 
agine that yet celestial flowers were to be gathered 
on earthly ground. But, like Jonah, he has no 
sooner looked with complacency on his gourd, and 
beheld with pleasure the comforts around him, than 
he has espied a worm at the root, and heard the 
voice of Providence commanding him to depart. 
I find, then, says the christian, that this is a wilder- 
iiess where the bitter streams are continually flow- 
ing ; a world deceitful in its prospects, uncertain 
in its enjoyments, and fallacious in its promises. 
Here, (continues he) how soon are the finest 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 11 

schemes frustrated ; the lofty superstructure, rais- 
ed by care and industry, dashed to pieces ; the most 
lovely objects unexpectedly torn away ; happy con- 
nexions dissolved, and the most promising appear- 
ances exchanged for disappointment and sorrow ! 
And shall I rest here ? Here, among ruins, tem- 
pests, robbers, and a thousand evils ! Can there be 
any thing in the complaints of the living, the 
groans of the afflicted, the uneasiness of the rich, 
the disappointments of the multitude, and the wick- 
edness of man, to invite me to take up my abode 
here ? Rather, Lord, enable me to go forward ; 
-and, w^hile I use the world without abusing it, keep 
my eye on that inheritance which is incorruptible, 
undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 

Another thing which belongs to the christian's 
experience is his view of sin, as that which defiles 
his nature, and which he considers so offensive in 
the sight of God. Men in general, indeed, ac- 
knowledge not only that sin has entered into the 
world, but that its tendency is evil and destructive. 
But this is nothing more than the bare assent of 
the understanding to the fact. The belief of it 
makes no impression ; they still go on in their sin. 
Conscience, reason, law, gratitude, are all sacrifi- 
ced for the pursuit of it ; and, indeed, it forms one 
of the most awful sights in the universe, to behold 
a feeble, defenceless, miserable creature, as man is, 
constantly insulting the Almighty, while at the 
same time he is convinced he is doing v/rong. Such, 
however, is his conduct ; and as he knows by ex- 
perience the forbearance of God, he endeavours to 
reason himself into the belief that God will always 
forbear, and thus, " because sentence against an 



12 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

€vil work is not speedily executed, therefore the 
heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do 
evil." Ecc. viii. 1 1. But sin is not thus indulged, 
nor divine goodness thus abused, by the righteous. 
The sacred flame of divine love having been kin- 
dled in his heart, every thing which appears to him 
as inimical to the will of God fills him with hor- 
ror. Convinced of the holiness of the divine na- 
ture, the spirituality of the law, and the evil there 
is in sin, he beholds it with the utmost detestation. 
He knows, too, that it is sin that interrupts his 
peace, damps his joy, and causes him to go mourn- 
ing in the way. This is the burden he is labour- 
ing under from day to day ; and though he is made 
free from it as to its reigning power, yet its re- 
mains so taints all his works, so enervates his spir- 
itual powers, so retards his progress, as often to 
make him doubt his interest in the love of God. 
Here it is that the real christian is distinguished 
from the boasting pharisee, the formal professor, 
and the deceiving hypocrite. These are charac- 
ters, who, though they visit the temple of the Most 
High, engage in external acts of devotion, and call 
themselves the disciples of Jesus, yet, alas ! never 
feel sin to be their burden, never lament over it in 
secret, nor indeed ever see its defiling nature. But 
the convinced mind, that mind which is truly bro- 
ken and contrite, is overwhelmed with shame, and 
at times scarcely dares look up to the Almighty ; 
so powerful is the conviction, and so just is the 
view which it has of sin. Hear the confessions of 
the true penitent. " Wo is me, I am undone. 
Unclean, unclean. I have sinned : what shall I do 
unto thee, O 1 thou preserver of men ! I am a sin- 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 13 

ful man, O Lord. To xne belongeth confusion of 
face. My sin is ever before me. I have sinned, 
and am no longer worthy to be called thy son.'' 
Hear his prayers, '' Take away mine iniquity. Cre- 
ate in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit 
within me. Let not sin have dominion over me. 
Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. Have mercy 
on me, O Lord." Hear his determinations, " I will 
behave myself wisely in a perfect way. I will walk 
within my house with a perfect heart. I will run 
the way of thy commandments. I will love thee, 
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Is. vi. 5. 
Job vii. 20. Luke V. 8. Hos. xiv. 1. Ps. li. 10. Ps. 
cxix. 133. Ps. XXV. 11. Ps. ci. 2. Ps. cxix. 32. 

But the experience of the christian would be 
sad, indeed, did he not find something adequate to 
his wishes, and calculated to support his mind 
under these views of himself, of the world, and of 
sin. Here it is, then, that he is led to embrace 
the gospel as the only true remedy. Condemned 
by the law, oppressed with a sense of his de- 
pravity, sensible of the imperfection of his awn 
righteousness, he is taught by the Divine Spirit 
to look to Jesus as his refuge. Here his burden is 
removed, his fears subside, his hope brightens, and 
his soul is set at happy liberty. Here, reposing 
under the shade of the cross, he admires and ad- 
dresses his Saviour : "Blessed Immanuel, thou art 
the object of my regard. It is thy blood that 
cleanses from all sin : to thee I look for salvation ; 
on thee I depend for my present happiness and 
future safety. Here let me dwell forever, view- 
ing thee as my Great High Priest : while I live, 
let me live to thee ; and when called away from 



14 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

this w'orld, let me join that celestial throng who 
shall sing the song of Moses and the Lamb for- 
ever.'* Here we see how appropriate, how de- 
lightful, the gospel is to the true christian. It is 
his strength in weakness, his light in darkness, 
and his greatest joy under all the opposition aris- 
ing from his various enemies. He receives Jesus 
as his wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and 
redemption. To him the Saviour appears as alto- 
gether lovely. He glories in his cross, experi- 
ences the love of God as shed abroad in his heart 
by the Holy Ghost, and abundantly rejoices in the 
finished work and complete atonement made by his 
Lord and Saviour. 1 Cor. i. 30. Rom. v. 5. 
Gal. vi. 14. 

But while he thus embraces the remedy the gos- 
pel affords, and is dependent on free grace alone for 
salvation, yet he does not think himself at liberty 
to neglect the divine commands, and make Christ 
a minister of sin. Another part of his experience, 
therefore, is that in which he not only sees but 
feels the happy effects of divine truth upon his own 
mind. He finds that the sacred oracles are not to 
be received into the memory merely, but treasured 
up in the heart, as matter for meditation, preven- 
tions from danger, directions in difficulty, and mo- 
tives to obedience. With the sacred writers he can 
say, " I have esteemed the words of his mouth 
more than my necessary food. Thy word have I 
hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 
O how I love thy law ! I rejoice at thy word, as 
one that findeth great spoil. Thy words were 
found, and I did eat them ; and thy word was unto 
me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." Job 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 15 

xxiii. 12. Ps. cxix. 11. Jer. xv. 16. Thus the 
holy scriptures are made pleasant and profitable to 
the true christian. They purify his mind, refine 
his taste, warm his heart, curb his passions, exalt 
his aff'ections, and direct his steps. It is no won- 
der, therefore, that the Bible is his companion : he 
cannot li/e^thout it. It is the extensive field in 
which he roams ; where grow the fragrant flowers, 
where flow the refreshing streams, where he 
breathes celestial air, and where the most enlarged 
prospects animate and delight his soul. Here, af- 
ter the toils and labours of the day, he repairs, and 
recruits his strength. Here he forgets the world, 
enters into the solemn thought of his immortality, 
and aspires after that bliss which his God and Sa- 
viour hath promised to bestow. 

But he is not insensible to the favours of a be- 
nign Providence. Though a traveller to a better 
country, he knows how to value the blessings of 
this. Indeed, he is the only character who uses 
them as they ought to be used : while he relishes 
the comforts of life, he is led to enjoy God in them. 
" While bad men snatch the pleasures of the world 
as by stealth, without countenance from God, the 
proprietor of the world, he sits down openly to the 
feast of life under the smile of approving Heaven." 
Far from wearing the countenance of an ascetic, or 
influenced by the principle of a misanthropist, he 
considers himself placed as in a delightful temple, 
where the beauties of nature, and^ the bounties 
of Providence, all tend to reflect the glory of his 
Sovereign Lord. Here, while he muses, his mind 
brightens, his heart expands, his soul burns with 
celestial ardour, while he exclaims, " O! how 



16 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for 
them that fear thee ! How excellent is thy lovini^ 
kindness, O God ! Bless the Lord, O my soul, who 
crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender 
mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things ; 
bless the Lord, O my soul." Ps. xxxi. 19. Ps. 
ciii. 1, 4,5- IttXVO. 

While the mind is thus employed, it would be 
unnecessary to attempt to prove its happiness. It 
is impossible it should be otherwise ; but it may be 
necessary to remark, that what we have already- 
observed are not the only sources of its felicity. 
The mind has access to the Suprenae Being 
through his works and word ; but it does not con- 
sist in a cold contemplation of his existence, a 
mere belief of the grandeur of his nature and per- 
fections. Believers are said to be partakers of the 
divine nature : they bear the divine image ; 
brought to love what God loves ; to avoid what he 
has prohibited, and to acquiesce with his sover- 
eign will. What, then, is the consequence of this 
union ? The scripture shall speak for us : " Truly 
o\XY felloivshifi is with the Father, and with his Son 
Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called us 
to the fellowship of his Son.*' " He that keepeth 
his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in 
him ; and we know that he abideth in us, by the 
Spirit which he hath given us." 1 Jo. i. 3. 1 Cor. 
i. 9. 1 Jo. iii. 24. To those who never had the 
divine glory in view, who never saw the beauty of 
holiness, and who never enjoyed the divine pres- 
ence, this may appear as unintelligible mysticism ; 
but it really makes a part of the christian's expe- 
rience. Communion with God, in which the soul 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 17 

$3 lifted above the world, filled with sublime joys, 
and fired with the prospect of the everlasting en- 
joyment of his favour in a future world, surely can- 
not be unworthy of the pursuit of a rational creat- 
ure. If the Divine Being is to be our portion and 
our happiness hereafter, nothing can be more rea- 
sonable than a desire to enjoy something of this 
divine pleasure while by the way. But we will 
not now stay to oppose the arguments of the unbe- 
liever, or attempt to make that clear to others, 
which only experience can explain. Let me turn 
to you, O believer, and ask, Is not fellowship with 
God a reality ? Have you not found some of your 
happiest moments when your mind has been led 
out to God ? And though uninterrupted commu- 
nion has not been your lot, nor will be the lot of 
any while here below, yet have you not rejoiced 
with a joy unspeakable and full of glory ? How 
light, then, has been the burden, which before you 
thought you could not sustain ! how insignificant 
has the world appeared in your view ! How have 
his smiles alleviated your pain, borne you up under 
accumulated difficulties, and sweetened all the 
crosses and troubles of life ! Ah ! hov/ have you 
then w^elcomed all the oppositions of your ene- 
mies, forgotten the discouragements of the way, 
and pressed with redoubled ardour towards that 
city which hath foundations, whose builder and 
maker is God 1 

But it is not to be supposed that all these feel- 
ings are possessed and this happiness enjoyed in a 
state of inactivity and unconcern. We know that 
the Almighty can impress the minds oV his creat- 
ures at any time, without the uSe of means ; but we 
C 



18 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

know also that be does not in general do so ; for 
as, in the natural world, he hath ordained the sun 
by which we are warmed, created air by which we 
breathe, and provides food by which we are sup- 
ported ; so, in the moral and spiritual world, he 
hath appointed means through which he commu- 
nicates blessings of a spiritual nature to his people. 
The utility of these means the christian finds by 
his own experience. The throne of grace he 
knows to be an important and suitable institution. 
Here he comes with all his wants, trials, and exer- 
cises of mind. He opens his heart, and makes 
known his requests to his heavenly Father. He 
implores the Holy Spirit to remove his ignorance, 
console his mind, and instruct him in divine 
things. He finds it good to draw near to God. 
His mind is often relieved, his faith increased, and 
his soul rendered alive to its immortal interests. 
Whatever others do, he finds he cannot live with 
any degree of pleasure without giving himself up 
to God perpetually ; and though the frame of his 
mind varies, yet both duty and interest prompt 
him to engage in this delightful exercise. This 
spirit of prayer we find characterising all the saints 
of God. " I will not let thee go," said Jacob, 
" unless thou bless me.'* O that thou wouldst bless 
me, indeed, prays Jabez. I will order my cause 
before him, and fill my mouth with arguments, 
cries Job. From the end of the earth will I cry 
unto thee, says David. Gen. xxxii. 26. 1 Chron. 
iv. 10. Job xxiii 3. Ps. Ixi. 3. But it would 
be superfluous to multiply instances. The throne 
is erected, the Saviour waits to hear, the christian 
sees his privilege, and leaving the w orld and its 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 19 

care, he retires, he pleads, he praises, he conse- 
crates himself to the Lord ; and thus his spiritual 
strength is renewed, and his soul comforted by the 
way . 

How pleasant is the Sabbath also to the true 
christian ! He finds it to be the day of rest, of joy, 
of instruction, and of praise. While others pro- 
fane it by idleness and dissipation, business and 
pleasure, luxury and wantonness, he desires to 
spend it in the service of his Lord and Master. 
After the cares of the week, and the toils of busi- 
ness, with what happy sensations does he hail its 
return I How glad is he, when, after the slumbers 
of the night, he opens his eyes, and recollects it is 
the day which the Lord hath made ! With what 
pleasure can he sing. 

Welcome, sweet day of rest. 

That saw the Lord arise ; 
Welcome to this reviving breast, 

And these rejoicing eyes ! 

With the return of this day, a thousand pleas- 
ing reflections occur to his mind. It calls to his 
recollection the final completion of the w^orks of 
creation, and the triumphal resurrection of his 
Lord and Saviour. It reminds him of the great 
kindness of the Almighty in making such a mer- 
ciful provision for his creatures. He hears the 
heavenly voice saying. Soul, come up hither ; bid 
adieu to the anxious cares of the w^orld for a while, 
and rise into ardent contemplation and blissful 
thought. It calls him to worship, to hold com- 
inunion with his Lord, and to devote himself with 
increased zeal to his service. It teaches him to 



2® THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

anticipate an eternal sabbath of rest, where he 
hopes to enjoy the divine presence, and be em- 
ployed in celebrating divine praises for ever. 
Whatever others think, and however others neg- 
lect this day, he finds it by experience so truly ad- 
vantageous and interesting, that, if even there 
were no command for its observance, he should 
still think it his happiness to devote a seventh 
part of his time more especially to the service of 
God. It is not a weariness to him, as it often 
proves to those who have no delight in spiritual 
exercises. He finds it to be a day of pleasure, 
and of profit too. From the instructions he re- 
ceives, and the happiness he experiences on this 
day, he is better prepared to go forth and main- 
tain the conflict with his enemies. He is enabled 
to carry a savour of divine things into his business 
through the w^eek. It fortifies him against sur- 
rounding evils, and raises him in some measure 
above the world, even while he is in it, . 

PVom public ordinances he derives much bene- 
fit. He visits the sanctuary not for the sake of cu- 
riosity, but for the purpose of instruction ; not as 
one influenced by custom, but as one desirous of 
having his heart impressed, and his devotion excit- 
ed. It is to him the house of God, and the gate of 
heaven. He can truly join the Psalmist, and say, 
" One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I 
seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the 
Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty 
of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. How 
amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts 1 
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they 
will be still praising thee. For a day in thy courts 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 21 

is better than a thousand : I had rather be a door- 
keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in 
the tents of wickedness." Ps. xxvii. 4. Ixxxiv. 
4,11. Here it is that he repairs with willing 
feet. Seated in the divine temple, his mind is fill- 
ed with reverence ; he is humbled under a sense 
of his own imperfections. He now views the 
world through a proper medium : all the turbu- 
lent passions of the soul are hushed into silence ; 
the guilt that he had contracted gradually dimin- 
ishes as the cross is presented to his view ; truths 
that he had almost forgotten are recalled to his 
mind ; the powers which lay almost dormant are 
awakened ; '' serious meditations suggested, good 
dispositions raised, and the heart adjusted to a com- 
posed and tranquil frame." When we thus con- 
sider what invaluable blessings the christian de- 
rives from hence, it is no wonder that we hear of 
expressions of strong attachment to the house of 
God, and such holy lamentations of grief when de- 
prived of attendance on public ordinances. " As 
the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth 
TTiy soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for 
God, for the living God : when shall I come and 
appear before God ? My tears have been my meat 
day and night, while they continually say unto me, 
Where is thy God ? When I remember these 
things, I pour out my soul in me ; for I had 8:one 
-with the multitude, I w^ent with them to the house 
of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a 
multitude that kept holy day. O God, thou art 
my God, early will I seek thee : my soul thirsteth 
for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and 
tlrirsty land, where no water is, to see thy power 
C 2 



22 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS 

and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanc- 
tuary." Ps. xlii. 1,2. xliii. 1,2. Ixill 

In singing the praises of the Almighty, the 
christian is often supported and refreshed. The 
remembrance of past mercies, present enjoyments, 
and the hope of future good, furnish abundant mat- 
ter for his gratitude. The sacred song of praise 
is therefore congenial to his feelings. Pleasure 
arises in his soul as he celebrates the goodness of 
his Saviour. And if he have not the vocal powers 
as many have, yet his heart is attuned, and he can 
cheerfully join in the sentiments inspired by the 
grateful recollection of divine mercy. To the 
lively christian there is no part of divine worship 
more agreeable or profitable than this, in which 
praises are sent up to heaven from the congrega- 
tions of the saints. Here he experiences much 
happiness. For awhile he forgets his cares, his 
heart is touched with a sense of love divine, he im- 
agines himself in a little heaven, and would fain 
sing himself away to everlasting bliss. But it is 
not in the public assembly only that the christian 
finds happiness in this delightful work. The 
place of his abode resounds also with cheerful 
strains, and his family becomes a society of harmo- 
ny and peace. The hours of retirement likewise 
are employed in this heavenly work. Even here 
the christian passes away the moments pleasantly 
by singing the praises of his God. The mind, ab- 
stracted from the world, and mounting up to heav-^ 
en, catches the celestial fire, rejoices in the divine 
fevour ; and thus retirement is sanctified by com- 
munion with him. 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. ?.3 



« The calm retreat, the silent shade, 

With prayer and praise agree. 
And seem by thy sweet bounty made 

For those who follow thee. 

There, if thy Spirit touch the soul. 

And grace her mean abode, 
O with what peace, and joy, and love,. 

She communes with her God ! 

There, like the nightingale, she pours 

Her solitary lays. 
Nor asks a witness of her song. 

Nor thirsts for human praise." 

Thus the christian finds happiness in this heav- 
enly exercise, whether in the public assembly, the 
family, or in retirement. The saints in all ages, 
more or less, have found it useful and animating ; 
and the scriptures abound with testimonies to their 
warm feelings and grateful strains. " The Lord 
is my strength and song, and he is become my sal- 
vation. Thy statutes have been my songs in the 
house of my pilgrimage. I will sing of the mer- 
cies of the Lord forever : while I live will 1 praise 
thee, O Lord ; I will sing praises unto my God 
while I have any being.^' Is. xii. 2. Ps. cxix. 54. 
Ixxxix. 1. cxlvi. 2. 

The ordinance of the Lord^s Supper is found to 
be exceedingly pleasant and profitable to the 
christian. Here he commemorates- the dying love 
of his adorable Saviour. He considers himself 
as brought into his banquetting house, whose ban- 
ner over him is love. He sits down with pleas- 
ure to the feast. He looks to Calvary by faith, 
and on the cross beholds this delightful motto. 



24 THE NATURE OF KELIGIOUS 

" The blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin." 
He finds it good to be here. It is the place of 
refreshment by the way. All taken up with the 
Saviour, he thus meditates : " Blessed Lord ! and 
was it for me that thy blood was shed ? for me ! 
so unworthy, so vile, so sinful ! Was it for me 
thou wert crov/ned with thorns, nailed to the tree, 
and pierced to the heart ? Was it for me that thou 
didst bear such indignity, suffer such pain, and at 
last die such an ignominious death r Was it for 
my sins that thou wast deserted of the Father, in- 
sulted by men, tormented by Satan, and left by all ? 
Was it for me that thy holy soul was so exceeding 
sorrowful, thy face marred, and thy character vili- 
fied ? Ah ! Lord, was it for me that thy sufferings 
were so bitter, and thine agony so great as to 
sweat, as it were, great drops of blood ? Then let 
me be thine. Thou hast a just claim to my body, 
my soul, my powers, my time, my all. What- 
ever I forget, let me never forget thee. To thee, 
O Saviour, I desire to dedicate myself. On thy 
merits I depend. Thy presence I implore. O 
that I maybe thine 1 May I never glory but in thy 
cross i There may mine eye be fixed ; there may 
my hopes centre ! There may I live, there may I 
die, and there may I rest forever !'* 

Thus we have briefly considered the nature of 
christian experience in general. Those experi- 
ences which are either of a singularly distressing 
or happy kind, we shall have to consider in some 
of the following pages. Our aim in this chapter 
has been to give an outline of christian experience 
unattended with any remarkable circumstance, and 
which may be applicable to christians at large. 



EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL. 2a 

And now, my dear reader, in what has been said, 
can you trace any hkeness of your own experience ? 
Have you any reason to believe that you are called 
out of darkness into God's marvellous light ? Can 
you say, That whereas you were once blind, now 
you see ? Do you feel the corruptions of your heart, 
and lament under a sense of your unworthiness ? 
Have you been convinced of the vanity and empti- 
ness of the world ? Is sin the object of your ha- 
tred ? and have you fled to Jesus as your only Sa- 
viour, and feit the gospel to be the power of God 
to your salvation through the energy of the Divine 
Spirit ? These are important questions. For ex- 
cept you have known something of these things by 
your own experience, you are yet a stranger to 
truth, and exposed to danger. Speculative notions, 
unattended with this, will be of no utility. A clear 
perception, a retentive memory, a fine genius, are 
excellent qualifications ; but they will carry no man 
to heaven, the heart must be changed, the affec- 
tions raised to God, as well as the mind informed, 
or there can be no true happiness. Our Lord does 
not say, except ye be intelligent, except ye be en- 
dowed with extraordinary talents ; but except ye 
be converted^ ye cannot enter into the kingdom of 
heaven. Matt, xviii. 3. 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENeE. 



CHAP. II. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

THERE are very few who are disposed to doubt 
the advantages of experience. The ignorant novice, 
the deluded fanatic, the rash adventurer, may some- 
times treat il with contempt ; but, if we turn to the 
more sober part of society, we shall find it to be 
justly appreciated, and constantly revered. Its 
voice is heard, and its dictates attended to, in almost 
every department of life. Hence the judge, the 
statesman, the general, the merchant, the master, 
the mariner, are all respected in proportion to their 
experience. Their persons are courted, and their 
decisions received, while their sentiments become 
the standard of public opinion. Conjecture may 
be ridiculed, but who can argue against experience ? 
Who is not willing to be led by it ? Who is there 
but must prefer it at all times, if indeed they desire 
to keep ill the paths of prudence and safety ? 

As in the common concerns of life, so in relig- 
ion, it is experience that is more advantageous than 
bare theory. The world is a tempestuous sea ; 
and without experience we are liable to be driven 
about by every wind, and at last dashed to pieces 
on some dreadful rock, or swallowed up in its tre- 
mendous waves. If we ask those who have advan- 
ced far in the voyage of human life, the y will tell 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 2/ 

US what they have gained by it, and the evils to 
which they were at first exposed for the want of it. 
It is .rue, say they, we have suffered much : but 
our sufferings have been profitable. " For tribula- 
tion worketh patience, and patience experience, and 
experience hope ; and hope maketh not ashamed, 
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 
by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. They 
inform us, that though no chastening for the pres- 
ent seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, neverthe- 
less afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of 
righteousness unto thera which are exercised 
thereby." Rom. v. 5. Heb. xii. 11. 

Jesus Christ himself, " the Captain of our Salva- 
tion, it is said, was made perfect through sufferings. 
And though he were a Son, yet learned he obedi- 
ence by the things which he suffered ; and being 
made perfect, he became the author of eternal sal- 
vation unto all them that obey him :" and again, 
saith the Apostle, " in that he himself hath suffer- 
ed, being tempted, he is able to succour them that 
are tempted." Heb. v. 8, 9. Heb. ii. 18. He w^as 
one therefore of eminent experiv^nce ; he knew all 
the feelings of distressed humanity ; and his dig- 
nity never appeared greater, nor did his character 
ever shine more illustrious, than in the midst of 
pain, of conflict, and of blood. If he therefore gain- 
ed by experience, shall not we derive advantage 
from the same source ? 

" I have learned by experience," said one ; and 
it must be confessed that tlie lessons thus obtained 
are likely to be more impressive and more lasting 
than what can be gained in any other way. They 
require but little exercise of the mind to recollect 



28 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

them. They are not like notions which are receiv- 
ed into the head, and which soon are forgotten. 
These make an impression upon the heart, awaken 
the feelings, and very often form the character. 

Of the advantages of religions experience, we 
may observe, in the first place, that it produces wis- 
dom and prudence. The christian is •>ften. in his 
first outset, possessed of the most lively emotions ; 
his zeal carries hi rn forward, and rises superior to 
his knowledge. He runs into extremes, and some- 
times incurs disgrace. But as he advances, his 
knowledge increases : after he has met with a few 
winds and storms, he becomes more prudent. 
His zeal is more temperate. He views objects with 
greater attention. He begins to see his own ig- 
norance, and to feel his own weakness. At first, 
like a traveller in the valley, his views were con- 
fined ; but as he ascends the mount, the prospect 
widens, and objects innumerable press upon his 
sight. 

From the experience he has of the treachery of his 
own heart, the vanity of the world, and the tempta- 
tions of the wicked one, he becomes more cautious 
and self diffident. He sees the propriety of those 
divine injunctions, " Keep thy heart with all dili- 
gence. Watch thou in all things. Come out from 
among them, and touch not the unclean thing. 
Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." 
Prov. iv. 26. 2 Tim. iv, 5. 2 Cor. vi. 17. He has 
found.by painful experience the consequence of an 
unwatchful spirit. The world has assumed a vari- 
ety of appearances to deceive him ; he has been 
led, perhaps, to listen to her promises, and been 
deceived by her smiles. The path from duty to 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 29 

worldly pleasures has been strewed with flowers ; 
the entrance has been enchanting, but the labyrinth 
in which he has soon found himself was hid. Sa- 
tan also has insinuated, that there could be no harm 
in the connexions, the pursuits, and the amuse- 
ments of the world ; that occasional deviations are 
excusable ; that many things arise from constitu- 
tion, from infirmity, and from circumstances, 
which are unavoidable. In several ways has he 
thus been attacked, and, finding by his own experi- 
ence the folly of listening for a moment to the cor- 
ruptions of his heart, the voice of the world, and 
the suggestions of Satan, he is brought to be more 
vigilant, and to keep a watchful eye in every situa- 
tion, and under every circumstance. He sees the 
justness of that declaration, " that he who trusteth 
in his own heart is a fool." Prov. xxviii. 26. He 
trembles for himself, prays for divine support, and 
learns to place more confidence in God as his only 
safety. Thus it was with Peter. He was a true 
christian, a courageous man, and full of love to his 
Saviour. " Though all should be offended," says 
he, " I will not. I will go with thee to prison and 
to death." But how fallible is human nature, and 
how little did Peter know of himself ! This same 
Peter denied his best friend, and at once became 
guilty of ingratitude, lying, inconstancy, and blas- 
phemy. Great, indeed, was his fall ; but he amse, 
be recovered, he wept, and returned. But what 
did he gain by this experience of the deceitfulness 
of his heart ? No more do we hear him boasting, 
no longer does he confide in his own strength. 
Behold him as he goes forth to preacli to the Gen- 
tiles f nothing of self, nothing of human glory, 

D 



30 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

nothing of presumption appears. Behold him 
in his writings. What cautions, exhortations, 
precepts abound, all tending to shew how careful^ 
how steady, how circumspect, we should be I 

But while the christian thus learns to distrust 
himself, he is convinced of the necessity of placing 
his confidence more in God. In looking back, he 
sees how many dangers he has escaped, how often 
his heart has deceived him, and how incapable he is 
of keeping himself. He implores that wisdom 
which is profitable to direct, and that support which 
alone can preserve him from falling. He knows 
that no past enjoyments, no talents he possesses, 
no extent of usefulness or long standing in the 
church, will ensure future safety, without a con- 
stant communication of divine grace ; and though 
a recollection of past experience be sometimes 
profitable, yet he cannot presume upon it. In the 
course of his pilgrimage he has seen many a bright 
sun, that hath shone all the day, at last obscured 
and set in a cloud. Human nature he has found 
to be too fickle to gain his implicit confidence, and 
human events too precarious to allow him to take 
up his rest here. The changes he has so often 
witnessed among men ; the sudden disappoint- 
ments which have taken place where all was 
thought secure ; the wonderful alteration of cir- 
cumstances where every thing was imagined to be 
fixed, have learnt him to look beyond sublunary ob- 
jects. " The son,'* saith the prophet, " dishon- 
oureth the father, the daughter riseth up against 
her mother, the daughter in law against her moth- 
er in law : a man's enemies are the men of hi^ 
own house. Therefore I will look unto the Lord^ 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 51 

I will wait for the God of my salvation." Mic* 
vii. 6j 7. 

It is no «mall consolation to him, that this part 
of his experience brings him to act in unison with 
the divine command. The Bible is a book admir- 
ably adapted to the circumstances of the christian 
in his passage through this vale of tears. Hence 
it is he is led to consult it by the way. The road 
is often rugged ; he finds it difficult to bear up? and 
to bear on through many discouragements. But, 
in looking into the sacred volume, he there reads, 
" Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Je- 
hovah is everlasting strength. Trust in the Lord 
with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own un- 
derstanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, 
and he shall direct thy paths.'* Is. xxvi. 4. Prov. 
iii. 5, 6. These he finds to be suitable direc- 
tions. Convinced of his own weakness, unable to 
sustain his own burden, and knowing the uncertain- 
ty of all human things, he considers it as the most 
invaluable privilege to be under the guidance of 
Him, who doth all things well. With what pleas- 
ure, therefore, it is he goes to his God ! and though 
he knows he is too wise to be informed, and so im- 
mutable that he cannot be persuaded, yet, as prayer 
is a mean which he himself hath appointed for the 
consolation and relief of his people, he opens his 
heart and pours out his requests before the divine 
throne. More especially, from the experience he 
has had of the vanity of the world and the evil of 
sin, does he pray for divine grace to keep him. 
" Order my steps in thy word, and let not iniquity 
have dominion over me. Keep me as the apple of 
thine eye, and hide me under the shadow of thy 



33r ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

wings. Hold thou me np, and I shall be safe. 
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, 
for I lift up my soul unto thee." Ps. cxix. 133. 
xvii, 6. cxiiii. 10. Here, then, we see that ex- 
perience teaches the christian to be more prayer- 
ful and dependent, more docile and submissive, 
more cautious and devoted. 

To the above mentioned effects of sound expe- 
rience we may add that of humility. Who is he 
that is lofty and conceited, who imagines he knows 
every thing, who supposes he is superior to others, 
who looks down with contempt on those about 
him, who assumes to himself airs of importance, 
and decides with a magisterial tone ? Is it the ex- 
perienced christian ? Is it he who has seen the 
world, who has examined without haste, and deter- 
mined without rashness ? Is it he who has wrest- 
led hard with fears, conflicted with sin, and been 
constantly engaged in spiritual exercises ? No, 
verily. It is the novice, it is the superficial : it is 
lie who can converse about experience without 
having it. He whose mind is so contracted, that, 
only seeing a little, imagines he comprehends the 
whole. He who hears much, talks more, but 
thinks not at all. No, reader, it is not the experi- 
enced but the Inexperienced that is proud. Hu- 
mility is gained in the school of experience. He 
who knows what human nature is, who has watch- 
ed the operations of his own mind, and the corrupt 
propensities of his heart ; he who is taught by the 
Divine Spirit, who often contemplates on the glo- 
rious perfections of Jehovah, and the unspeakable 
excellencies of his Son, finds no cause for pride. 
He is humbled in the dust. His thoughts, his af- 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. oo 

fection s, his powers, his performances, are all so 
contaminated, that he loaths himself. He can- 
not pray, but he is humbled at the thought 
of its imperfection. He cannot hear, but he 
laments how little he profits. He cannot read, 
but he complains how little impression is made. 
He cannot do any thing as he would. All this 
humbles him. "Though I were perfect," said 
Job, " yet would I not know my soul : I would de- 
spise my life. If I justify myself, my own mouth 
would condemn me." Job ix. 21.20. 

But what advantage here ? I answer, Great in 
every respect. Happy experience, that conducts 
to the valley of humility ; for here no complaints 
are heard, no ambitious desires manifested, no 
grievances magnified : here no envy stings, no 
jealousy rages, no unhappiness reigns. Here dwell 
peace and content ; here gratitude and love adorn 
the countenance "with pleasant smiles, and fill the 
heart with unspeakable joy. Here the soul, found 
in her true situation, welcomes all the revolutions 
of life without dismay, and at last meets death 
itself without fear. 

But this leads us to consider christian experience 
as learning us moderation in our desires and pur- 
suits. The christian has seen the folly of feeding 
the imagination with schemes o-f grandeur and op- 
ulence. If in the course of Providence his path be 
made smooth, and his table overflow with temporal 
comforts, he is thankful ; but elevated situations, 
extensive fame, or great power, are not the objects 
of his pursuit. He knows that felicity does not 
consist in the goods of life ; that they who have 
them in the greatest abundance are not the most 
D ^ 



S4 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

happy. Worldly prosperity, as it is called, is often 
rather the seat of anxiety than the place of ease. 
Thorns grow on that mount as well as roses ; yea, 
there the storm first arrives, and there too the dan- 
ger is the greatest. What then, it is asked. Is the 
christian a man of different feelings from others ? 
Has he not the same senses to be gratified, the 
same hopes to indulge, the same prospects to al- 
lure ? Truly, in many respects he has, and, being 
a man of like passions with others, there have been 
seasons in his experience when these hopes have 
been excited, and he has acted too much like oth- 
ers. Forgetting, for a moment, the noble end in 
view, he has been led aside by some object on 
which hapfiiness was speciously painted ; but, ea- 
gerly grasping it, alas! he has found it to be all 
nothing. The light has expired, and the christian 
left to find his way back in darkness and guilt, ex» 
claiming, 

Wretch that I am, to wander thus. 

In chase of false delight ^ 

But has he gained nothing by this ? Yes, surely. 
From his own experience, he has found the vanity 
of ambition and a restless spirit, and that modera- 
tion is best in all earthly pursuits. Now it is we 
hear him saying, '' Return unto thy rest, O my 
soul. To whom should I go but unto thee ? Thou 
art my portion, O Lord. While many say, who 
will shew us any good ? Lord, lift thou up the 
light of thy countenance upon me. Behold I come 
unto thee, for thou art the Lord my God." Ps. 
cxvi. 7. cxix. 57. iv. 6, 7. Jer. iii. 22. 

From what he has suffered by afflictive dispensa- 
tions) he has learnt the lessons of patience and re- 



,x^ 



APVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. o5 

sTgnation. He knew nothing of these graces till 
he came to be tried ; for " the trial of our faith 
worketh patience." He finds it useless to mur- 
mur : discontent only '' turns the rod inlo a scor- 
pion." He is led from his affliction to his sin, 
from his sin to his knees. " It is the Lord : let 
him do what seemeth him good." He is a Sover- 
eign ; he must work his own will, he must accom- 
plish his own plan. It is wrong for a worm to 
struggle under the foot of God, for a rebel to ac- 
cuse his Sovereign, for a delinquent to criminate 
his Judge. — " It is good, therefore, that a man 
should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation 
of the Lord ; for he doth not afflict willingly, nor 
grieve the children of men." 1 Sam. iii. 18. 
Lam. iii. 26, 33. 

Another advantage which the christian derives 
from experience is that of candour and forbear- 
ance ; and by candour we are not to understand 
that disposition of mind which leads a man to view 
all actions alike, and to speak equally favourable of 
all. No ; the true christian will frown upon vice 
wherever he finds it ; he will not spare reproof 
whenever it is necessary, nor be ashamed of that 
singularity which causes him to differ from the 
multitude, to whom sin appears as trifling, and 
by whom it is only considered as an unavoidable 
infirmity. He knows the weakness of man, he 
feels the seeds of sin within himself, and dare not 
boast of what he is^ nor can he tell what he maij be. 
He recollects that a Samson, the strongest man, 
was overcome ; a Solomon, the wisest man, acted 
foolishly; and David, one of the holiest of men, 
manifested the greatest depravity. He finds there 



36 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

is much truth in the observation, *' that there is 
nothing so silly that some wise man has not said, 
and nothing so weak that some prudent man has 
not done." And, indeed, the sacred scriptures 
justly observe, '^ that there is not a just man upon 
earth that doeth good, and sinneth not." Eccl. vii. 20. 
There are some unfeeling minds, however, that 
are ready to condemn all who do not come up to 
their standard ; and there are others not less cul- 
pable, who, blind to their own infirmities, seem to 
take delight in magnifying those of others. But 
these are not experienced christians ; these know 
little of themselves, and less of that religion which 
breathes nothing but kindness and charity. The 
experience of the energy and power of the gospel 
of Christ teaches him " to bear long, to think no 
evil, to hope all things,, and to endure all things." 
1 Cor. xiii. 7. Faidts are not magnified into crimes, 
occasional deviations are not considered as wilful 
transgressions, ignorance or mistake is not miscon- 
strued into vice. No ; the christian learns to at- 
tend to the rule of the Apostle, who says, '* If a 
man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual 
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, con- 
sidering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear 
ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law 
of Christ. We, then, that are strong, ought to 
bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please 
ourselves." 

From what he has seen of the prejudices of men, 
the distorted medium through which objects are 
viewed, the credulity of some, and the obstinate 
rashness oc others, he has learnt to be cautious as 
to his decisions respecting his fellow creatures* 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. o7 

The representations to which he has sometimes 
listened have proved exaggerated. In the mo- 
ments of passion, things have been carried into ex- 
tremes. Incidental circumstances, he has seen, 
have been seized to magnify the evil, and to apolo- 
gize for opposition. From these things he has 
learnt prudence, and determined not to be too pre- 
cipitate in his own conclusions. 

Nor will the experienced christian be a bigot. 
On first entering the christian world, he might 
have imagined that there could be little diffei'ence 
between persons who are travelling the same road, 
belong to the same family, and have the same end 
in view. But a closer examination of the human 
mind, a more extensive acquaintance with things, 
teaches him that minds, as well as countenances, 
are not exactly alike ; that the early association of 
ideas, prejudice, custom, the temperament of the 
human frame, and the mode of education, have 
caused a considerable difference of sentiment as to 
many things, though there may be an agreement 
as to the main object on the whole. What then ? 
Does he pronounce anathemas on all who differ 
from him ? Does he reprobate with more zeal than 
knowledge the conduct of those who do not see ex- 
actly as he does ? Verily, however he might be 
thus disposed at first, from want of a clear view of 
things, he now finds that others must have the 
same liberty which he takes himself. But it may 
be asked, Has not a bigotted spirit been as preva- 
lent among christians as among others ? Has not 
persecution, and every species of cruelty, been 
exercised by christians one towards another ? Alas, 
there is too much ground for the charge i But then 



&$ ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

it must be inquired, What kind of christians these 
were ? Were they, in general, men influenced by 
the spirit of Christianity, whose minds were illu- 
minated by the Spirit, and whose hearts were ex- 
panded by the love of God ? Certainly not. They 
were christians in name only, contending only for 
externals, without knowing any thing of the power 
and efficacy of the religion of Christ. He who is 
a true disciple, who knows any thing of the truth 
experimentally, will feel a liberality of soul which 
a bigot knows nothing of. He will not condemn 
a whole community for the worthlessness of a few 
,^ individuals, nor will he form an uncharitable opin- 
ion of others because they differ from him in non- 
essentials. As he travels along, he beholds differ- 
ent companies in the same road, each distinguish- 
ed by their little peculiariiies ; but as they are go- 
ing to the same home where all shall meet and 
unite, he feels an attachment to them, and wishes 
them prosperity in the name of the Lord. 

But, among all the advantages of christian expe- 
rience, that of hope is not the least. This is one 
of those graces which the Apostle Paul emphatic- 
ally declares experience produces. We all know 
what pleasure is derived from hope, how friendly 
it is to man, how often it sweetens human life, how 
it bears up the mind under its heaviest burdens. 
Hence it is ^' that there is no temper so generally 
indulged as hope : other passions operate by starts 
on particular occasions, or in certain parts of life ; 
but hope begins with the first power of comparing 
our actual with our possible state, and attends us 
through every stage and period, always urging us 
forward to new acquisitions, and holding out some 



ADVANTAGES O? EXPERIENCE. 39 

distant blessing to our view, promising us either 
relief from pain, or increase of happiness." If 
hope, in general, be so valuable, how useful must 
it be when well founded ; how peculiarly advanta- 
geous to the christian ! From the experience he 
has had of the divine munificence, the many inter- 
positions of Divine Providence, and the fulfilment 
of the divine promises, his hope is strengthened, 
and he looks forward with a degree of cheerful- 
ness and confidence. *' Having obtained help of 
God," he exclaims, " I continue unto this day. 
He has led me forth in a right way. Why, then, 
should I doubt of future support ? Will he conduct 
me part of the way, and abandon me at last ? That 
be far from him ! God is my refuge and strength, 
a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not 
I fear, though the earth be removed, and though 
the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." 
Acts xxvi. 22. Ps. cvii. 7. xxiii. 6. xlvi. 
1,2. Thus experience feeds hope, and hope pro- 
duces courage, stimulates to exertion, and fills the 
soul with pleasure. How sweetly does it v/hisper 
to the christian, as he passes along. Persevere, O 
christian ; strength shall be given equal to thy 
day. Temptations may discourage, darkness may 
intimidate, and opposition may alarm ; but these 
are all under the power of thy Sovereign Guide. 
He knows the way ; he can support, yea, he will 
not leave nor forsake thee. The mountains shall 
become a plain, and crooked things straight, as 
they have already been ; all shall work together 
for good ; and at last you shall arrive at that house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Thus 
" hope is as the anchor of the soulj both sure and 



40 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE, 

Steadfast, and entereth into that within the veil. 
We are saved by hope. We have for an helmet 
the hope of salvation. We rejoice in hope, and by 
hope we are purified, even as he is pure." Heb. vi. 
19. Rom. viii. 24. 1 Jo. iii. 3. 

We may observe, lastly, that nothing promotes 
usefulness more than experience. It both creates 
the desire of usefulness, and actually fits for it. 
Who so desirous for the spread of truth, as those 
who have seen its beauty, and felt its power ? Who 
so anxious to point miserable sinners to the Sa- 
viour, as those who have been pardoned and saved 
* by him ? Who more willing to declare his grace, 
and exalt his name, than those who have tasted his 
goodness and experienced his support ? When 
Jesus made himself known to the woman of Sa- 
maria, she left her water pot, and fled to the city, 
saying, " Come, see a man which told me all things 
that ever I did. Is not this the Christ ?'' When 
he was presented at the temple, Anna, a proph- 
etess, coming in that instant, gave thanks, and 
sfiake of him to all them that looked for redemption 
in Jerusalem. When Andrew first found the Mes- 
siah, he carried the happy tidings to his brother 
Peter, and was the instrument of bringing him 
to Jesus. John iv. 26. Luke ii. 38. John i. 41. 
Thus grace is communicative : it expands the 
heart, it calls forth the powers to action, it fills the 
soul with the purest benevolence, and makes its 
possessor truly concerned for the welfare of his 
fellow creatures. He who has been convinced of 
the danger to which he was exposed, the astonish- 
ing love of Christ in rescuing him from it, the 
happy state into wliich h^ is brought by his unmer- 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 41 

ited favour, and the everlasting felicity he expects 
to enjoy, cannot but be fired with the most gen- 
erous desires that others may participate the same 
blessings. Who are cold hearted ? Who are un- 
feeling ? Who are unconcerned about the salva- 
tion of mankind, but those who have never seen 
the importance or experienced the happy effects 
of the blessings of the gospel ? But the experi- 
enced christian is alive to their best interests ; and 
his benevolence is not only of the best kind, but is 
of the most extensive nature. It is not a sect he 
wishes to flourish ; it is not a party he desires to 
exalt. It is not a single neighbourhood, his native 
place, or the country to which he belongs, he is 
anxious should enjoy these blessings only, but his 
good wishes encircle the globe, and with the Psalm- 
ist he can say, ''Let the whole earth be filled with his 
glory. Amen, and amen." Ps. Ixxii. 19. It is 
here, then, that we can account for what is im- 
properly called the unnecessary activity of som^ 
christians. To the world, indeed, they appear as 
enthusiasts. They are considered as troublesome, 
intruding, and desirous of exalting themselves. 
They are often represented as characters, who, by 
an improper forwardness, dismember society, pro- 
duce discord in families, and injure individuals; 
But these charges are groundless The fact is, 
having tasted that the Lord is gracious themselves, 
they ardently long that others may know him too. 
They are grieved at the wickedness which abounds. 
They well know what enemies men are to them- 
selves, and that the religion of Jesus only can pro- 
duce true happiness. Is it any wonder, therefore, 

Er 



42 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

if, stiinulated by a sense of duty, and prompted by 
the feelings of compassion, they sometimes warn 
the sinner of his danger, endeavour to convince 
him of his folly, and point out to him the way of 
salvation ? If a man, who had long laboured under 
a dreadful malady, at last found relief in some 
able physician, would he be ashamed to speak of 
him? — rather w^ould he not with the warm^est emo- 
tions recommend him to others in the same situ- 
ation ? Or if he had lost his way, and was kindly di- 
rected by one who was well acquainted with it, 
would he not recommend him as a sure guide ? 
Or if any of us had received multiplied and un- 
merited favours from some kind and beneficent 
friend, should we not speak highly of his char- 
acter, and recommend him as the refuge of the 
needy, and the support of the distressed ? Nor let 
it ever be wondered at, therefore, if christians 
should so strongly recommend him to whom they 
are entirely indebted for all the blessings they en- 
joy, and all the comforts they have ever received. 
Let not such zeal be accounted madness, such be- 
nevolence ostentation, nor such gratitude weak- 
ness ; but rather the genuine evidences of a mind 
perceptive of duty, and a heart powerfully im- 
pressed with a sense of divine goodness. 

But experience actually qualifies for usefulness. 
Who are our best philosophers, our best artists, 
our best legislators, our best divines, but those who 
have had the greatest experience ? It is this which 
qualifies men for the discharge of the most impor- 
tant offices. To these are committed affairs of the 
greatest magnitude, and this with the greatest 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 4o 

propriety. For how soon would that vessel be ex- 
posed to the most imminent danger which has an 
inexperienced pilot at the helm ! How soon would 
that army be put into confusion who only had an 
inexperienced general at its head ! How soon 
would that country be involved in ruin wiio pos- 
sessed no other than an inexperienced statesman as 
her guide ! Bui, on the contrary, where experi- 
ence dictates, there in general safety is enjoyed. 
Let us apply this to the experienced christian. 
How well qualified is he to be useful ! with what 
certainty can he speak of the nature of sin, with 
what feeling can he expatiate on the vanity of the 
world, with what propriety can he enlarge on the 
operations of the human heart ! How capable is he 
of recommending the best things to attention ! 
With a noble boldness, he can contend for the faith 
once delivered to the saints. With energy, he can 
exhibit the Saviour to the lost sinner, as his only 
righteousness. He can afford consolation to the 
distressed, instruct those w^ho are ignorant, and be 
the instrument of restoring the wandering backslid- 
er to his happiness and his God. Thus even the 
private christian is qualified for usefulness, and 
shines as a light in the world. 

But how peculiarly useful is experience to him 
who is in a more public situation ! What an advan- 
tage is it to the minister of the gospel ! It enables 
him to touch every tender string of the human 
heart, to adapt himself to the cases, trials, and feel- 
ings of his different auditors ; to lift up them that 
fall, to comfort the feeble minded, to sympathise 
with the afflicted, to bear with the weak, and sue- 



44 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

€our the tempted. What a difference do we dis- 
cern in the discourses of those who deliver merely 
what they have been taught, but Avhat they do not 
feel ! How cold is the address of the mere specula- 
tor and inexperienced, when compared with his, 
which comes warm from the heart, and is the fruit 
of his own experience ! How useless, flat, and in- 
sipid is the one, how animated, appropriate, and 
impressive is the other ! The one resembles the 
mere way-post that directs the stranger, while 
itself is unmoved ; the other may be compared to a 
living guide, who actually becomes a companion in 
the road, and animates and supports as he proceeds. 
From the views we have thus taken of the advan- 
tages of experience we may learn what respect is 
due to it. How many evils would the young and 
inexperienced be saved from, were they to be obe- 
dient to the advice of those who have been long in 
the way ! How many have to lament that they have 
followed their own inclinations, in preference to 
the wise counsels of the more experienced ! Con- 
sult, therefore, my young readers, those of longer 
standing than yourselves. Be willing to give up 
your judgments to those which are superior. It 
is an honour to sit at their feet, and receive their 
instructions ; but it is vanity to think you know so 
much, that they cannot inform you. They have 
seen the world in the various appearances it has as- 
sumed. They have watched the operations of 
Providence. They have been out in the storm, 
and been tossed about by the dreadful tempest. 
They can tell where the dangerous places are ; the 
LOcks that are to be avoided, and the course which 



.mr'sL 



ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 45 

should be pursued. To them, therefore, under 
God, must you resort. They can direct in difficul- 
ty, support in danger, and be the instruments of 
saving from impending ruin. Learn to court their 
company, listen to their advice, and never be 
ashamed to own your inferiority, nor to bend to 
their decision. 

Let the experienced, also, learn to make use of 
their experience for the good of others. It is with 
this as it is with every other valuable treasure, — it 
ought to be employed for the benefit of society at 
large, or individuals in particular. To gain much 
and impart nothing, is disgraceful to humanity, and 
inconsistent with religion. A general relation of 
experience to every one would be highly injudi- 
cious. Pearls are not to be cast before swine. But 
there are occasions when the christian may make 
use of his experience with great advantage, and be 
the happy mean of deterring from the prosecution 
of rash and dangerous steps ; or, on the other hand, 
of encouraging others, whose minds have been per- 
plexed with a variety of distressing fears. Experi- 
enced christians, be useful in this respect. Tell 
what you know, that your younger brethren may 
be benefited. How pleasing is it to see you sit 
down with a little company of inexperienced 
around you, and to hear you say, " I have travelled 
some time in the way. In yonder place I was sur- 
rounded with enemies ; but the interposition of 
Providence rescued me from danger. As I passed 
along that valley, I found help from the recollection 
of the divine promises. In ascending the hill of 
difficulty, I was wearied and exhausted, but happily 

£ 2 



46 ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENCE. 

my strength was renewed. Sometimes I have 
been tempted to step aside to gather a flower that 
grew on the bank, but I have found it only impede 
my journey, and for a while lost sight of the path 
in which I was going. The clouds have some- 
times alarmed me, but they have ultimately caused 
nie to mend my pace. Loiterers, speculatists, 
apostates, and others, have often wished to hold 
converse, and dispute about the road, but they are 
all to be avoided : they harass the mind, and lay 
stumbling-blocks in the way. I have beheld ob- 
jects at a distance which have appeared terrific and 
dismaying ; but, on a nearer approach, I have ex- 
perienced them to be rather adding to the comfort 
of the way than otherwise. The nights have 
^sometimes been long, and the winds and storms 
have been violent, but it has made the light and the 
calm more acceptable. On the whole, it is pleas- 
ant to remark, that they who commit all into the 
hands of the Almighty shall find all well in the 
end ; that there is nothing to be dreaded so much 
as a deviation from the path of duty, and that little 
is to be feared while we are in it." 

Such is the testimony that experience can bear 
to the faithfulness of God, and such testimony 
should be borne, for the sake of those who have 
to travel in the same road. Much might be said 
on this subject, but we must reserve it for another 
place in this work, where we shall consider it 
more at large. [See the 8th and 11th chapters.] 
But before we come to this part, it will be ne- 
cessary, as we have now opened the nature and 
advantages of experience in general, to enter into 
more fiarticular experiences of true christians. 



> <* 



THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S, Scc. 



CHAP. IIL 



THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S EXPERIENCE. 

ALTHOUGH all true christians belong to the 
same family, have the same common parent, are 
travelling the same way, and have the same object 
in view, yet they are not all of the same stature, 
possess the same strength, nor bear the same com- 
plexion. Hence it is that the sacred scriptures 
speak of " little children, young men, and fathers 
in Christ." There are some who have but just 
began to breathe in the spiritual world, and can 
scarcely discern spiritual objects ; there are 
others, who, in addition to life, possess vigour, 
who are grown up to manhood, have obtained 
more knowledge, and are still making progress to 
a higher state. But there are others who have 
arrived to considerable eminence in the divine 
life, whose judgments are matured, whose views 
of things are extensive, and v/ho by long expe- 
rience are capable of teaching others also. Thus 
we see it is in religion as in all the other works of 
the divine hand. There is a gradual process to be 
observed. Everything could be done instantaneous- 
ly by the power of the Almighty, were it his good 
pleasure. But we see it is otherwise. The work 
of creation was not executed in a day. The sys- 
tem of providence is not the work of a moment, 



4S THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S 

and the still more grand work of redemption was 
not to be accomplished at once. If we turn, also, 
to the works of art, every thing that is grand and 
magnificent, beautiful and permanent, has been 
the work of time, deliberation, and a regular pro- 
cess. The stately buildings that astonish the be- 
holder, the governments of the earth instituted for 
the happiness of its inhabitants, the volumes of 
learning and information that adorn our libraries, 
the curious machines formed for the convenience 
of man and the prosperity of commerce, all have 
been carried on in this way. So the most impor- 
tant of all blessings, the religion of Jesus, as to 
its operations on the human mind, is progressive. 
It may be argued, however, that regeneration is 
an instantaneous act ; but, admitting that it is, 
and that spiritual life is communicated at once^ 
yet that is no objection to the principle we are now 
contending for. Life is communicated to the 
child, but that does not constitute its manship. It 
does not immediately unfold all its powers, and ar- 
rive to maturity at the same instant. So in the 
family of Christ life may be given, but the chris- 
tian may be a babe : he may be weak and ignorant, 
and it must be a work of time before he can ad- 
vance to be a young man and a father in Christ. 

To this agrees the language of the apostle Pe- 
ter, who says, " Ye? also, as new born babes, 
desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may 
grow thereby.'* 1 Pet. ii. 2. So the apostle 
Paul, when writing to the Corinthians, says, 
*' And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as 
imto spiritual, but as unto carnal; even as unto 



ElXPERIENCE. 49 

babes in Christ." 1 Cor. iii. 1. So again to the 
Hebrews. " For every one that useth milk is un- 
skilful in the word of righteousness, for he is a 
babe." Heb. v. 13. So the treatment of the 
Thessalonians, which the same apostle speaks of, 
conveys the same idea. " We were gentle among 
you, even as a nurse cherisheth her ^^hildren." 
1 Thess. ii. T. It is this babe, this child in grace, 
then, whose experience we shall now consider. 
And here, also, we shall have to describe some- 
thing of his character, as well as his experience ; 
in both of which we shall see something excellent^ 
something blameahle^ and something discouraging. 
The first thing we discover in the young chris- 
tian is a serious concern for his soul. Before he 
was convinced of his real state by nature, he mani- 
fested no care for the immortal part. All taken 
up with his body, the pleasures of the world, and 
the vanities of time and sense, he neglected that 
which was most important, and despised that 
which was most necessary. But now he is led to 
consider what will become of his soul, and to make 
the solemn inquiry, " What shall I do to be sa- 
ved V He reads with trembling the awful warn- 
ings and solemn declarations of scripture, " What 
shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, 
and lose his own soul t or what shall a man give in 
exchange for his soul ? Except ye be converted, 
and become as little children, ye shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. Except ye repent, 
ye must all perish. Seek ye the Lord while he 
may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." 
Mark viii. 36. Matt, xviii, 3. Luke xiii. 3. Isa. 



50 THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S 

Iv. 6. These passages come home with power td' 
his mind ; he is led to see the impropriety of 
living according to tl^ie course of this world, the 
end of which is death. The Divine Spirit im- 
presses the solemn truths of revelation upon his 
heart ; he is made a new creature : old things 
begin to pass away, and all things become new. 
He is led to choose that better part, that one thing 
needful, which cannot be taken from him. The 
care of the soul, the shortness of time, the cer- 
tainty of death, the necessity of repentance, the 
awful realities of heaven and hell, together with 
the thoughts of eternity, are subjects which now 
so engage his attention, that he becomes alive to 
his best interets, sets his face Zionward, takes up 
his cross, and travels towards the heavenly world. 
But although his feet be directed in a right path, 
he is far from being satisfied with himself. He 
cannot forget the transgressions of his former life. 
There was a time when sin was not a source of dis- 
tress to him, and when, indeed, he saw nothing of 
the evil of it. He would not then own himself a 
sinner, and ridiculed those whom he found depress- 
ed in spirit, on account of their sins. Thinking 
nothing of the justice and holiness of God, and the 
demands and sentence of his law, he trified with 
sin, and committed it without remorse. God, said 
he, is merciful, and there is no doubt of forgive- 
ness. But now, when he looks back, he cannot 
bear the reflection ! His sins appear both multitu- 
dinous and aggravating. He v/onders God did not 
cut him down in the midst of his folly. He re- 
members how he abused divine goodnesS; slighted 



EXPERIENCE. 51 

conscience, neglected duty, and offended Him to 
-whom he is under infinite obligations. Under a 
sense of this, he now feels a heavy burden, often 
doubts whether the Lord will be gracious to him, 
and, like David, prays, " O remember not against 
me former iniquities ; let thy tender mercy speed- 
ily prevent me, for I am brought very low. Help 
me, O God of my salvation, for the glory of thy 
i^ame ; and deliver me, and purge away my sins, 
for thy name's sake'' Ps. Ixxix. 8, 9. 

It may be necessary to observe here, that all 
christians have not the same pungent feelings on 
their first convictions. Some are remarkably 
distressed under a view of their sins ; others feel, 
but not to the same degree. A sense of guilt, 
however, more or less belongs to all. Nor are 
those to be considered as truly regenerate who do 
not find sin to be a burden. Where there is life, 
there will be feeling. A ponderous weight upon 
a dead person will not be felt ; but upon one 
where there is life, whether the infant or the aged, 
there will then be a susceptibility. So with true 
christians : whether babes in Christ, or fathers, 
sin will be burdensome. " I know, I know," says 
the christian, " that I am a sinful creature : look- 
ing at what I once was, I tremble ; and behold- 
ing myself as I now am, I am fearful. I will de- 
clare my iniquity, I will be sorry for my sin. I 
have nothing in myself but what is a source of 
shame : lean do nothing but what is imperfect. 
All I have, and all I am, is tainted with human in- 
firmity. If a smgle perfect thought could save 
me, I have it not. To thee, O Lord, therefore, I 



52 THE YOUNG CHRISTIANAS 

must look for mercy. Interpose, or I am undone. 
Shew compassion, or I must die I Die a sinner ! 
Die miserable ! Die without hope! Die to bear 
thy indignation, and to reap the fruits of my own 
sin i O Lord, save, or I perish !" 

While guilt thus presses hard, the christian is 
led to inquire what hope, what confidence, he may 
indulge ; where he can find rest for his troubled 
conscience •: how he can obtain real happiness ; 
whether there be salvation for such as he. Here, 
then, we see him employed in consulting the sa- 
cred oracles, and here it is, by divine assistance, 
he obtains relief. Here he finds that a Manasseh, 
a Saul, a Magdalen, a thief on the cross, were par- 
doned, and received to glory. Here he learns 
that a fountain is opened for sin and uncleanness. 
Here he beholds promises which strengthen his 
faith, brighten his hope, and comfort bis mind. 
With what pleasure he reads, then, that " the blood 
of Christ cleanses from all sin ; that he is able to 
save to the uttermost all that come unto God by 
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession 
for them ; that this man receiveth sinners, yea, 
that it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accep- 
tation, that he came into the world to save sinners. 
1 Jo. i. 7. Zech. xiii. 1. Heb. vii. 25. Luke xv. 2. 
1 Tim. i. 15. 

These promises furnish matter for prayer, and 
a sense of duty as well as of privilege excites him 
to come to the throne of grace. He cannot now live, 
as he has done, without supplication to his God. 
Ah ! he remembers well how he has neglected 
this, and that he has acted more like the beasts of 



EXPERIENCE. 53 

the field than as a rational being, accountable to his 
Maker. He remembers, too, how praying people 
were the butt of his ridicule, how disgusting their 
prayers were ; and when in the house of God, how 
tedious the service, how irksome the devotion of 
others has been to him. Yea, probably, he recol- 
lects more : he calls to mind the time when he ac- 
tually derided and persecuted the people of God ; 
endeavoured to disturb their devotions, to destroy 
their Bibles, and to make them miserable. But 
now what a pleasing change 1 Behold he himself 
prays ; happy to retire from those he once associ- 
ated with, that he may implore the mercy of his 
God, and experience communion with him. Now 
the people whom he despised are the objects of his 
delight. He hastens to their company, he unites 
with them in their services, and participates with 
them the blessings attendant on those who wait on 
God, and devote themselves to him. 

It is not to be supposed, however, from what we 
have said above, that the young christian is imme- 
diately possessed of the gift of prayer, so as to ad- 
dress his Maker with that freedom and propriety 
which belong to the more experienced christian. 
There is much ignorance and imperfection. But 
we are not offended. He is a babe ; and the lisp- 
ings of a babe have charms, and make us feel 
as well as the more accurate language of the 
more mature. We admire the grace that dictates 
his desires, and we excuse the language in which 
they are clothed. 

Another peculiar characteristic of the young 
christian is zeal. We often discover more of this 
F 



54 THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S 

in him than in those who are more advanced. God> 
perhaps, graciously bestows much, in order to 
break through the difficulties and withstand the 
great opposition to which he is exposed. The 
young christian, too, it must be remembered, 
knows but little of the strength of human corrup- 
tion, and the inveteracy of prejudice. He imagines 
he can easily reclaim those who have been long ac- 
customed to vice and immorality. He sees things 
so plain himself, that he supposes others must see 
the same. Full of love to the Saviour, he would 
fain bring others to love him too. He sets about 
converting the world, and discovers much activity ; 
till at last he finds what Melancthon found, that 
<"< Old Adam is too hard for the young christian.'* 
Here, then, we must consider the shades in his 
character ; some imperfections, v/hich nothing but 
a greater experience will remove. He has been 
but a short time in the way ; his mind cannot be 
much enlarged ; his knowledge must be but scan- 
ty ; his judgment respecting divine things cannot 
be matured. The world lays snares for him of 
which he is not aware : the argument of a superi- 
or, the smile of a relation, the promise of a friend, 
and the suggestions of carnal prudence, sometimes 
lead him aside. Though sincerely engaged in the 
cause of his Divine Master, he has not, ahogether, 
entirely shaken off customs, and divested himself 
of prejudices he imbibed in nature's school. These 
have proved a thorn in his side, and given the 
world an opportunity of attacking him with hopes 
of success. He has had but few occasions, as yet, 
to witness the deceitful operations of his own heart. 



EXPERIENCE. 55 

This is a book he has not been accustomed to read 
till lately. Many fine descriptions have been set 
forth here ; many fine pictures have been drawn, 
and many delightful prospects represented, that 
have, after all, proved fallacious, and by which he 
has been deceived. His little acquaintance, also, 
with the sacred oracles has led him, sometimes, 
to put false constructions on the word of God ; 
and he has been in danger of falling into error, had 
it not been that some who had more experience af- 
forded him instruction. ^' The devices and depths 
of Satan," also, he has been but little acquainted 
with. This great enemy of souls has watched his 
every step, painted things in improper colours, 
and sometimes put on a spiritual appearance : the 
young convert, perhaps, has listened to his insinu- 
ations, and, while pleased with the phantom pre- 
sented to his mind, has actually fallen a victim to 
his snares. See the last chapter. 

It is no uncommon thing for the inexperienced 
christian, also, to discover a little of a self-dependent 
spirit. Legal hope dies hard, and he is, some- 
times, led to imagine that he has more strength 
than he has. Thus Peter thought that though all 
the disciples should leave Christ, yet he would not. 
How many rash steps have been taken, how many 
dangers have young christians run into, through a 
dependence on themselves ! They have judged by 
their present feelings, not considering the weak- 
ness and versatility of man. " I shall never be 
moved. It is good to be here," has beeA their lan- 
guage. Their very prayers, although sincere and 
well meaning, have proved their ignorance and 



56 THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S 

self-dependence ; and often has it been a mercy for 
them that they have not been answered according 
to their desires. Like children, too, they hare 
been pleased with toys ; stood on the brink of dan- 
ger, without knowing where they were. Flushed 
with zeal, they have made attempts without fear, 
entered upon important stations without caution, 
and engaged in services which the more experi- 
enced have declined from a sense of their import- 
ance, and the wise have withdrawn from, under a 
conviction of their inability. 

It is the tendency of the religion of Jesus to 
humble the mind, and to produce the most lowly 
thoughts of ourselves ; and, in proportion as grace 
operates, so shall we be diffident of ourselves, and 
the more shall we exalt the Saviour. Satan, how- 
ever, takes the advantage of the young convert, to 
make him think more highly of himself than he 
ought to think. It is no uncommon thing, there- 
fore, to observe such assuming a degree of impor- 
tance which does not belong to them ; to dictate 
where they ought to learn ; to be conspicuous 
where they ought to be obscure. A considera- 
tion of the evil propensity of the heart to this sin 
led the apostle to say, " Be not high minded, but 
fear. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take 
heed lest he fall. Let every man think soberly, 
according as God hath dealt to every man the 
measure of faith. If any man think that he know- 
eth any thing, he knoweth nothing, yet, as he 
ought to know " Rom. xi. 20. 1 Cor. x. 12. 
Rom. xii. 3. I Cor. viii. 2. 



EXPERIENCE. 67 

Great imprudence, however, marks the young 
» christian's conduct. Even the disciples of our 
Lord were not free from this. Firmly as they 
believed in the Messiah, and ready as they were to 
obey his commands, they sometimes discovered 
great rashness, as the following instances will testi- 
fy. " It came to pass, when the time was come 
that Jesus should be received up, he stedfastly set 
his face to go to Jerusalem. And sent messen- 
gers before his face ; and they went and entered 
into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for 
him. And they did not receive him, because his 
face was as though he would go to Jerusalem : 
and when his disciples, James and John, saw this^ 
they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire 
to come down from heaven, and consume them, as 
Elias did I But he turned, and rebuked them, and 
said. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are 
of.** So again, " John answered and said, Mas- 
ter, we saw one casting out devils in thy name,, 
and we forbade him, because he folio weth not with 
us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not ; 
for he that is not against us, is for us J* Luke ix» 
49 — 5&. 

The little experience the youn^ christian has 
sometimes leads him to be loquacious* He is 
ready to determine without judgment, and to 
speak without caution. An over inquisitiveness 
is too evident, and an unsanctified curiosity fre-- 
quently predominates. " What shall this man do I** 
said one : to whom our Lord replied, ^ What is 
that to thee I foUov/ thou me.** " Lard^ are there 

fe^ that shall be saved V said another^ ^^ Strl^^ 

F2 



5S TtlE YOUNG christian's 

to enter in at the strait gate,'' said our Lord, « for 
many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and 
shall not be able." John xxi. 22. Luke xiii. 23, 24. 

Zeal in a good cause is certainly deserving of 
praise, and worthy of imitation ; but that of the 
young christian too often degenerates into temerity. 
His judgment is not matured enough to inform 
him, nor his prudence great enough to guide him 
always in what is to be done. Hence actions good 
in themselves are seen out of place ; order is dis- 
turbed ; the path of others is crossed, and con- 
fusion produced all through inadvertency and want 
of experience. Young christians have often 
wounded the spirits of others, though undesigned- 
ly ; and too often instead of promoting, they have 
injured the cause they meant to serve. Infidels 
have laughed, sceptics increased their doubts, and 
the ungodly hardened in their courses by some 
rash step they have taken, or unguarded word they 
have uttered. 

We must not, however, be too severe on those 
w^hose inexperience claims our advice, and whose 
tenderness should engage our protection. Their 
faults may be numerous, but they are the faults of 
children ; their experience little, but they are con- 
tinually adding to their treasure. They are every 
day receiving shocks, which, instead of injuring, 
tend to settle them. They are constantly making 
experiments, from which knowledge is increased, 
and prudence learnt. They have their pleasures, 
but they have their difficulties too ; and from these 
difficulties they learn experience, and obtam good^ 



EXPERIENCE. 59 

But these difHculties must be stated, in order that 
we may have a full view of their experience. 

We have already mentioned the serious concern 
produced in the mind by a conviction of sin, and 
that in some this arises to the most pungent dis- 
tress, almost bordering on despair. A view of 
the holiness of God, the nature of sin, his own un- 
worthiness, and the punishment due to the guilty, 
fills the soul with horror, and these uneasy impres- 
sions are not always immediately removed. The 
Almighty is sometimes pleased to wound deep, 
before he sends his Holy Spirit to lead the awak- 
ened mind to look to and derive comfort from the 
cross. Hence many, with Job, have said, '' The 
arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison 
whereof drinketh up my spirits : the terrors of 
God do set themselves in array against me.''* 
Job vi. 4. 

But, in addition to these painful sensations, the 
young christian meets with opposition from his 
former companions. One derides him as an en- 
thusiast, another considers him as melancholy ; a 
third ridicules him as sing\ilar, while a fourth 
sneers at him for changing his religion. Perhaps 
he may have ungodly parents, who are ready to 
deprive him of his patrimony, expel him from the 
house, or set him up as a laughing-stock to the 
rest of the family. Domestics may be suffered to 
treat Jiim with contempt, and inferior branches of 
the house may pass by him with scorn. These 
things, though honourable to the christian, ytt 

*See chapter on Distressing Experience. 



60 THE YOUNG CHRISTIANAS 

are not pleasant to human nature ; and we al! 
know, that though grace affords support, yet it does 
not destroy the feelings. 

But the young convert is not only attacked in 
this way ; but when the world perceives that he is 
invulnerable here, another method is tried, and which 
has indeed been more dangerous than the other. 
Human nature loves to be soothed : soft words, al- 
luring smiles, kind treatment, and fair promises, 
will do more to bend the mind than any other 
means that can be thought of. These are some- 
times employed by the devotees of the w^orld to 
warp the mind, and draw aside the young pilgrim. 
With apparent kindness at the head, follows a va- 
riety of other expedients to ensnare. Vice is ex- 
tenuated ; virtue is represented as not always 
rigid in her claims ; occasional departures are al- 
lowable ; there is no harm when it does not spring 
from principle. God never designed all the pleas- 
ures of the world to be abandoned : every one 
have their infirmities, and you may have yours. 
You may think of religion at another opportunity i 
it will be time enough when you come to die. 
With such like expedients is the young convert 
assaulted : and it must be confessed that when 
parents and connexions are amiable in every other 
respect, the struggle between conscience and car- 
nal prudence becomes severe indeed. Here the 
christian trembles. His relatives claim his atten- 
tion ; God claims his conscience. The former 
call to pleasure, but the latter to duty. Discour- 
aged and dejected, he scarcely knows what to do ; 
till the recollection of the decision of the apostles^ 



EXPERIENCE. dl 

" we ought to obey God rather than men," liber- 
ates his mind. Acts v. 29. 

Another source of discouragement is the conduct 
of professors themselves. From both the formal and 
the careless is the christian often grieved. The for- 
mal cold-hearted professor, who enjoys nothing of 
the power of real religion himself, is frequently, 
the most forward to reproach those who do. In- 
stead of encouraging the young, bearing with their 
infirmities, and admiring their vigorous zeal, how 
often is it we hear him say, " Ah, young person, 
you run too fast : religion is sober ; it requires 
not such zeal ; you should mind your worldly in- 
terest : God does not expect we should do every 
thing. The wisdom of this world is not altogether 
to be, despised : religion is well in its place, but 
you need not burden yourself with it : God will 
accept the will for the deed." This has staggered 
the new-born christian for a while, till again, recurr- 
ing to the sacred volume, he finds such characters 
described as dangerous : " Wo to them that are at 
ease in Zion ; who are neither cold nor hot." 
Amos vi. 1. Rev. iii. 18. 

The inconsistent characters of some also dis- 
courage him. It is no uncommon thing for the 
newly awakened christian to imagine that conver- 
sion is a transition from the world, Avhere every 
thing is imperfect and sinful, to the church, where 
every thing is pure and holy. On his first en- 
trance into the religious world, therefore, he is 
not aware that counterfeits are to be found here as 
well as in every other part of human society. He 
is surprised to find the serpent in paradise ; that 



62 THE YOUNG CHRISTIANAS 

a profession of religion is made use of by the hyp- 
ocrite as a step to worldly advancement ; that 
there can be splendid talents, a retentive memory, 
a fair and sanctimonious appearance, and a silver 
tonj^ue, without grace. Nothing, perhaps, dis- 
tresses him more than to find his Lord and Master 
crucified in the house of his friends. He feels for 
them^ he feels for himself.^ he feels for the cause. 
On turning, however, to his guide, he finds this 
is no new thing : the Bible points out to him such 
characters, and warns him to beware. " Also, 
thou son of man, the children of thy people still 
are talking against thee by the walls, and in the 
doors of the houses, and speak one to another, 
every one to his brother. Come, I pray you, and 
hear what is the word that cometh from the Lord. 
And they come unto thee as the people cometh, 
and they sit before thee as my people, and they 
hear thy words, but they will not do them ; for 
with their mouth they shew much love, but their 
lieart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou 
art unto them as a very lovely song of one that 
hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an in- 
strument ; for they hear thy words, but they do 
them not. Many will say to me in that day. Lord, 
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and 
in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name 
done many wonderful works ? And then will 
I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart 
from me, ye that work iniquity.'* Ezek. xxxiii. 
30, Sec. Matt. vii. 21, 22. 

There are also temptations peculiar to the young 
christian which become exceedingly distressing^ 



EXPERIENCE. 63 

The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the 
pride of life, assault him with the greatest force. 
Sometimes a spirit of volatility leads him astray. 
His passions are clamorous, his spirits flow briskly. 
He finds it difficult to maintain that solidity without 
gloom, and that cheerfulness without levity, which 
should ever distinguish the true christian. The 
god of this world knows, too, how to beguile those 
who have not any considerable degree of experi- 
ence. He is continually watching for their halt- 
ing, and is ever ready to inflate with pride, to ex- 
cite a false zeal, to stimulate to acts of imprudence, 
or, on the other hand, to fill with shame, to pro- 
mote an unbecoming diffidence, to depress the 
spirit, and insinuate hard things of God. Thus 
young christians suff*er from satanic opposi- 
tion, as well as from their own lively passions, and 
the allurements of a fascinating and deceitful world. 
Lastly, what has a great influence on the mind 
in a way of discouragement are the errors and vari- 
ety of opinions which abound. The Bible informs 
us of "the doctrines of men,'' "oppositions of 
science,'' " devices of Satan," " unlearned ques- 
tions," " old wives' fables," all which are to be 
guarded against. The young christian is stagger- 
ed at the multiplicity of sentiments, the number 
of false teachers, and the contrariety of opinions he 
finds among the professors of religion. What al- 
so has had the appearance of truth, he has found to 
be error. And as error often lives next door to 
truth, he has mistaken one for the other, till the 
word of God, or the wisdom of a more experienced 
christian, has set him right. So many ax'e the bye 



64 THE YOUNG CHRISTIANAS 

roads, so specious the arguments of the erroneous, 
and so numerous the votaries of false doctrine, that 
his mind has been for a while distracted. One, 
perhaps, has reproached him as a legalist, another 
has told him his doctrines lead to licentiousness. 
Some have endeavoured to draw him aside with 
soft and insinuating measures ; others have pro- 
nounced him in a state of imminent danger, be- 
cause he could not walk in their confined circle, or 
breathe their bigotted and contracted spirit. Ah ! 
young christian, how should the more experienced 
in Christ, feel for you ! Tossed up and down, as- 
saulted by every rude hand, ridiculed by the world, 
and tempted by a malignant foe, how ought such 
to feel for you ! Venerable fathers in Christ, ye 
who were once thus exposed, press the tender 
lambs to your bosom, screen them from the stormy 
blast, bide them under the covert of your own in- 
fluence, and let it never be said, that those who are 
discouraged by the world, are left unprotected by 
the church, and unassisted by those whose business 
it is, like the Saviour of sinners, to strengthen the 
■weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 

But, before I conclude this chapter, let me en- 
treat the young christian to cherish a principle of 
gratitude for the manifestation of divine goodness 
toward him. It is true you have not the light, the 
experience, the wide-extended views, or the matur- 
ed judgment of many around you; but you are in 
the way : God is your guide ; he has enabled you 
to forsake the world, and to take up your cross. 
What obligations are you under, then, to him ! 
You especially, who are early devoting yourselves 



EXPERIENCE. 65 

to him, how many evils will you escape, how many 
blessings you enjoy ! To begin the morning of 
life with God, is the way to have a most prosper- 
ous day and a serSne evening. You may, there- 
fore, look forward with pleasure ; and when arriv- 
ed to the end of your journey, look back without 
dismay. In life, through life, at the close of life, 
and when time shall be no more, all shall be well 
with you. Be grateful for discriminating favour : 
how many of the young are ruining their constitu- 
tions, wasting their estates, prostituting their pow- 
ers, and bringing inevitable destruction upon their 
souls, while you have been led by a gracious friend 
to take a different course ! Ah ! you are called to 
peace, to holiness, to honour, to glory, while oth- 
ers are sinking into perdition. Will you not, then, 
be grateful ? 

Learn, also, to be docile and humble. Others, 
who have been long in the way, confess that they 
know but little ; yea, the wise are complaining of 
their ignorance. And what then can you know ? 
Freely acknowledge your ignorance, and be not a- 
bove asking instruction from your superiors. Sit 
down at the feet of others, and you shall be saved 
from many unhappy circumstances which those 
have been involved in, who chose rather to follow 
the dictates of their own rashness and inexperi- 
ence than the wise directions of the intelligent and 
experienced christian. Follow too the footsteps 
of the flock ; beware of novelty and curiosity in 
divine things. There are meteors in the religious 
world as well as in the natural ; but he who fol- 
lows them is likely to be led astray. The light of 

G 



66 THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S 

th^ sun, which is more steady, permanent, and 
useful, ought to be preferred to those lights 
which are only conspicuous because they are sur- 
rounded with darkness. Revelation must be your 
guide, and not the novel opinions and strange sen- 
timents of those who love to be singular, and who 
shew more pride than grace by differing from all 
others. Above all, implore the Spirit of grace, 
that you may still go forward, increasing in knowl- 
edge and grace even unto the end. 

You are not without encouragement ; yea, it is 
somewhat remarkable that a great number of 
promises are made to the weak and young of 
Christ's fold. He gave a special commission that 
his lambs should be fed. It was prophesied of him, 
that he would not break the bruised reed, nor 
quench the smoking flax, but that he should take 
the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom. 
Ministers are commanded to speak comfortably to 
them, and to treat them with the utmost tender- 
ness. Is. xlii. 3. Is. xl. 11. Is. XXXV. 3,4. Jo. 
xxi. 15. 

Perhaps you may complain ; you may be ready 
to say, " Ah ! I have but little if any light. My 
mind is very contracted, my corruptions I find to 
be very powerful. The enemy I fear will be too 
much for me. I am ready to sink under a sense 
of my unworthiness. And what if I should prove 
an apostate at last ? what if I should sin against 
light and knowledge, and, like Judas, betray him 
whom I profess to love, and thus plunge myself 
into misery 1" Should this be your language, con- 
sider that the Great Shepherd of his sheep has 



EXPERIENCE, 67 

engaged to keep and guide safe through. " None," 
he hath said, '' shall pluck them out of his hand." 
1 Pet. i. 4. Your feeling thus is an evidence of 
life, and life shall not be destroyed by a kind par- 
ent, though it may be scarcely discernible. Go 
forward, therefore ; you shall have the prayers of 
the saints, the attendance of angels, and the com- 
passion of God. 

Let us all learn to bear w^ith the infirmities, 
sympathise with the state and direct the steps of 
the weak and feeble. They have too many discour- 
agements of their own to have others thrown upon 
them by those who are engaged in the same cause, 
and have the same object in view. The voice of 
nature says, Treat the young with tenderness and 
care. The voice of reason joins, and says, The 
strong ought to help the Vvxak : and the voice of 
scripture loudly proclaims, " Him that is weak in 
the faith receive ye ; he shall be holden up, for 
God is able to make him stand." Rom. xiv. 1, 4. 



€8 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN 



CHAP. IV, 



THE EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN IN MIDDLE 

AGE. 

IT was observed by the great apostle Paul, that, 
Vi^hen he was a child, he spake as a child, he un- 
derstood as a child, he thought as a child ; but 
Avheri he became a man, he put away childish 
things. 1 Cor. xiii. 11. This is not less true in a 
spiritual than in a literal sense. There are child- 
ish things belonging to the young christian, which, 
tljough tliey claim our indulgence,- yet are not 
pleasing, and which a christian of riper years is 
taught to renounce. The frivolities of children 
are not practised by the middle aged, nor are their 
imaginations deceived, nor their judgment so easi- 
ly imposed on, as those who have seen and known 
but little of human life and of christian experience. 
As the christian advances, the dignity of his char- 
acter appears ; and when he has passed the first 
stage of life, we may consider him as possessing 
wisdom and experience. He has now felt the con- 
sequence of listening to the dictates of ignorance 
or of vanity, and of following the many rash guides 
who have pretended to be his friends. He is now 
enabled to unite prudence with his zeal, and delib- 
eration with his knowledge. Humility, stedfast- 



IN MIDDLE AGE. 69 

ness, order, wisdom, and vigilance, distinguish and 
adorn his c haracter. He is no more a child, toss- 
ed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of 
doctrine : his heart is established with grace. 
What Hosea predicted of Israel may be verified in 
his experience : '' he grows as the lily, and casts 
forth his roots as Lebanon." Hos. xiv. 5, 6, 
There is not merely a beauty as in the lily, but 
strength as in the cedar. Storms cannot easily 
shake him, being rooted and built up in Christ. 
Things called new, alluring, and wonderful, strike 
not his senses with the same force as formerly. 
He does not run backward and forward, agitated 
at every strange event, nor is h^ carried away with 
the stream of popular opinion . In fact, we now see 
the christian in this state no longer as the babe, 
the novice, the curious, or the volatile. It is the 
man of nerve, of judgment, of discretion and de- 
pendence ; one who has renounced his own will to 
follow the will of God, who makes the word of 
God his rule, and the glory of God his end ; who 
has seen enough of the world to wean him from it, 
and so much of the divine favour, as to convince 
him there can be no happiness without it. 

There are some particulars, however, which 
more especially belong to the christian at this pe- 
riod of life, which we shall now consider. 

And, first, we may observe, that it is a time of 
serious reflection as to what is past, and of solemn 
thoughtfulness as to what is to come. Young 
christians, like children, seldom think much, 
Alas, what carelessness and want of consideration 

G 2 



70 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAK 

are evident! These things, however, in some meas- 
ure, are done away in middle age. Things of im- 
portance engage the attention ; the powers are en- 
larged, experience is ripened, the judgment is in- 
formed, and wise reflections cannot but enter into 
the mind. The christian, at this time, stands upon 
an eminence, and looks, as it were, both ways. He 
looks back, and beholds the way through which he 
has travelled. He contemplates the difficulties he 
has encountered, the tempests he has been exposed 
to, and the dangers which have attended him. He 
calls to mind the various changes he has witnessed 
in human affairs. Friends he has seen turned into 
enemies, comforts into crosses, and the most prom- 
ising appearances into disappointment and wo. 
The unexpected vicissitudes he has seen in na- 
tions, churches, families, and individuals, fill him 
with astonishment, while at the same time they 
teach him wisdom. His reflections, however, are 
not fli// of the gloomy cast. He has seen the hum- 
ble exalted, the vigilant protected, the industrious 
crowned with success. He has observed, with 
pleasure, the kind hand of the Father of mercies 
supplying the poor, blessing the afflicted, defend- 
ing the v/eak, holding up the tempted, and directing 
the ignorant. With the psalmist he can say, " that 
he has never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his 
seed begging bread ; but that divine wisdom has 
led them forth by a right way, that they might go 
to a city of habitation." Ps. xxxvii 24. cvii. 7. 
Reader, what a noble sight is this, to behold the 
christian, notwithstanding all the troubles of life, 
pronouncing this delightful sentence, " I have 



IN MIDDLE AGE. 71 

seen the end of the Lord, that he is very pitiful, and 
of tender mercy ?" James v. 1 1. 

But the christian in middle age is thoughtful as 
to the future. He dreams not now of new and ex- 
traordinary scenes, of places where all care and 
trouble are to be excluded, of connexions where no 
false friends or open enemies are to be found, of 
business where no exertion is necessary, or of 
power where no insubordination will manifest it- 
self. Alas ! how have we all been deceived in one 
or other of these respects in our first setting out, 
till more experience has undeceived us. Thjc 
christian of middle age, however, has seen the fal- 
lacy of all these things. From what he has experi- 
enced, he is led to believe that the future will, in 
many respects, resemble the past. He prepares 
for disappointment. His hopes run not high 
relative to this world's felicity. While there 
are the same corrupt dispositions in men, the 
same opposition from the god of this world, the 
same uncertainty as to all human affairs, he natur- 
ally expects to feel the shock which the convulsions 
of surrounding bodies may occasion. As a pru- 
dent man, however, he foreseeth the evil, and hid- 
eth himself. He does not willingly rush into dan- 
ger, yet, if he be called to it, he buckles on his ar- 
mour, and endeavours to bear up, and act with forti- 
tude and spirit in the conflict. 

To the christian in this period, indeed, as well as 
to all others, the events of futurity are unknown ; 
yet he can look forward with a degree of confi- 
dence and pleasure. He has travelled half his 
journey ; and from the remembrance of the sup- 
port he has received in days that are past, he gath» 



73 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN 

ers hope for the future. " I will commit myself,'* 
says he, *^ into the hands of the same faithful guide. 
I will remember the interposition of his providence. 
He did not abandon me to the world, as I deserved. 
He conquered my foes when they surrounded me. 
I called upon him in the day of trouble, he heard 
me, and delivered me from all my fears. Why 
then should I doubt his love ? Why should I de- 
spond, since he remains the same in bis covenant, 
in his purpose, in his perfections, and in his prom- 
ise ? The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of 
the lion, and out of the pav/ of the bear, he will de- 
liver me out of the hand of this Philistine." Un- 
belief has indeed sometimes asked, " Will the 
Lord cast off forever, and will he be favourable no 
more ? Is his mercy clean gone forever ? Doth his 
promise fail for evermore ? Hath God forgotten to 
be gracious ? Hath he in anger shut up his tender 
mercies ?" But faith has answered, " This is my 
infirmity : I will remember the years of the right 
hand of the Most High. I will remember the 
w^orks of the Lord ; surely I will remember thy 
wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy 
works, and ta'kof thy doings." Ps. Ixxvii. 7, &c. 
1 Sam. xvii. 37. 

But has the christian then, in this period, nothing 
to try him, nothing to weaken his faith, or cool his ar- 
dour ? We answer, he has. This is a time when he is 
more oppressed with care, more exposed to anxiety, 
than perhaps any other part of his life. It is now that 
he is immersed in business ; surrounded perhaps 
with a family ; the love of gain increasing ; occa- 
sions offering to excite jealousy, ambition, and en- 



IN MIDDLE AGE. 7S 

vy. " Here he is encountered by the violence of 
an enemy. There he Is supplanted by the address 
©f a rival. The pride of a superior insults him. 
The ingratitude of a friend provokes him. Ani- 
mosities ruffle his temper. Suspicions poison his 
mind." These are the things which try the chris- 
tian, and render this part of his life in many re- 
spects painful. What reason has he often to com- 
plain, through the intrusion of these evils, of the 
earthliness of his mind, the deadness of his soul to 
God, the lukewarmness of his frame, and the little 
he does for the glory of God ! " My soul cleaveth 
to the dust : quicken thou me, according to thy 
word. From the uttermost parts of the earth have 
I heard songs, even glory to the righteous ; but I 
said, My leanness, my leanness, wo unto me." 
Ps. cxix. "25. Is. xxiv. 16. 

•* Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 

Prone to leave the God I love : 
Here's my heart ; O take and seal it, 

Seal it to thy courts above." 

Our Lord well knew what the christian would be 
exposed to at this period, and, therefore, he has 
left suitable cautions and exhortations, which all 
who are more particularly engaged in the concerns 
of this life ought to observe. *' Take heed to your- 
selves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged 
with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this 
life." Luke xxi. 34. For want of an attention to 
these salutary cautions, how many christians have 
lost their spirituality, their zeal, and their useful- 
ness for a time ! Alas ! what an awful eclipse has 



74 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN 

been produced by the world's intervening between 
the christian and his spiritual Sun. How have 
many gone mourning to the grave through the cares 
of temporal things ! Worldly wisdom, secular in- 
terest, commercial connexions, and too much of 
the spirit of the times have so much influenced 
some good men at this period, as to draw them 
aside from the true path ; to pursue objects, 
which, however pleasant to the eye of sense, alas ! 
have only been calculated to injure the soul, and 
throw a damp on their exertions in the best of 
causes. But to return from this digression ; not- 
withstanding the general temptations, cares, and 
anxieties of the christian at this season, and some- 
times the too fatal consequences befalling those 
who listen to the tempter, yet, on the whole, the 
christian is gaining in experience ; he is more 
sensible of his danger, more judicious, prudent, 
and dependent on his God. We do not see in him 
that levity of spirit that is too conspicuous in the 
young : not that he is without cheerfulness ; " but 
his cheerfulness is as different from the levity of 
the young, as the flight of the eagle is from the 
fluttering of a sparrow in the air." There is now 
a solidity that marks his character, and this solidity 
is tempered with a humble joy. He is not now so 
easily elated, nor so quickly depressed as formerly. 
There is an equanimity of mind, learnt from a 
proper view of all things being under the control 
and disposal of Him, who orders every thing after 
the counsel of his own will. There is a fortitude 
acquired by actual conflicts with and conquests 
over the enemy. There is prudence derived from 



IN MIDDLE AGE. 75 

the recollection of former inexperience. The 
senses, as the apostle Paul observes, by reason of 
use, cun now discern both good and evil. Heb. 
V. 14. 

Farther ; we may consider this period as a 
time of usefulness. It is now that the christian 
possesses wisdom to instruct, experience which 
claims veneration, and influence which gains atten- 
tion. In the early period of christian experience, 
the christian indeed is often filled with extraordina- 
ry desires for doing good ; but, then, it often hap- 
pens that he is destitute of that knowledge and pru- 
dence which should direct his exertions, and hence 
frequently does harm instead of good ; but when 
he arrives to middle age, he is better capable of 
discerning what is to be done, and the best means 
which should be employed to answer the end. 
Having had some experience ni divine things, and 
been of some standing in the divine life, his knowl- 
edge becomes sound and extensive. The deceit- 
fulness of the heart, the vanity of the world, the 
evil of sin, the temptations of Satan, are subjects 
with which he is well acquainted. So likewise the 
doctrines of Christ, the graces of the Spirit, the 
duties of Christianity, and the consolations of relig- 
ion, are things on which he can delightfully expa- 
tiate. Now it is, therefore, that he becomes a 
shining light in the midst of a crooked and per- 
verse generation, capable of illuminating the igno- 
rant, re-animating the drooping, and strengthening 
the weak. 

Experience excites veneration ; hence it is that 
the christian who has passed his noviciate, and is 



76 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN 

arrived to the period we are now speaking of, is 
generally resorted to as a source of instruction, 
and as an object of esteem. We can take his deci- 
sions without hesitation, and follow his directions 
witl.out fear. To him therefore the distressed re- 
pair for advice under the difficult circumstances of 
life ; the young for knowledge and direction ; the 
conscientious for the resolving of cases of con- 
science, and the persecuted for a refuge in times of 
opposition and reproach. 

It is now also that the christian possesses more 
influence, and has greater opportunities presented 
to him of doing good. Now perhaps he is a fa- 
ther, and is anxious to bring his children up in the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord. He feels for 
their souls ; he is concerned for their best inter- 
ests. He takes them in the arms of faith and pray- 
er to the throne of grace, and beseeches the Fa- 
ther of mercies to be gracious to them. He ten- 
ders suitable instructions* and enforces all by a 
holy example. It is now, perhaps, he is a mas- 
ter, and has servants under his care. He is desir- 
ous of their being instructed in the way of salva- 
tion : he affords them opportunities of reading 
the scriptures and hearing the gospel. Taught by 
the humble and mild spirit of Christianity, he 
looks upon them as possessing souls equally as 
valuable as those of higher classes. He prays for 
them, and embraces every opportunity of doing 
them good. 

Perhaps he fills important stations in society, 
where a wider range is ailbrded for the display of 
his benevolence, and where it is expected his ac- 



IN MIDDLE AGE. 77 

tivity and exertions must be redoubled. What are 
now his feelings, and what his language ? Is it not 
now we hear him making inquiries of an impor- 
tant and useful nature ? " Arrived at middle age, 
and holding responsible situations in life, what am 
I doing ? The season of youth and inexperience is 
past away. Now, while I possess strength and op- 
portunity, while my powers are alive, and my in- 
fluence extensive, what useful objects have I in 
view ? Do I discharge the duties which devolve 
upon me with vigour and propriety ? and am I 
ready to adopt, and willing to execute plans of util- 
ity and good ? Should not my time, my talents, 
my property, be devoted to the glory of God and 
the benefit of my fellow creatures ? And, seeing 
that time is short, life uncertain, and that I must 
shortly descend to the grave, should I not work 
while it is day ?" Thus we may consider the chris- 
tian at this season as stimulated to activity, desir- 
ous of doing good, and having it in his power, 
more than in the season of youth or the time of 
old age, to be useful to mankind. 

But this is not a season of usefulness only as it 
respects others, but of peculiar gratitude as it re- 
spects himself. In the course of his journey, what 
has he seen ? How many has he beheld ruined by 
others ; how many ruined by themselves ; how 
many deceived by the world ; how many that have 
been exposed to accidents^ losses, bereavements, 
and trials, while he has been preserved ; how 
many pining under sickness, while he has enjoyed 
his health ; how many groaning under the iron 

hand of poverty, while he has been liberally sup- 
H 



78 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN 

plied ; how many sinking under a blasted reputa- 
tion, while his character has been kept unsullied ; 
and how many have fallen into eternity since he 
began his course I " Ah ! how many blank spaces 
he can number in the catalogue of those who were 
once his companions." Tbese things cannot b^ 
recollected without grateful emotions : he ac«* 
knowledges the divine hand in his protection and 
support,* and thus addresses the God of his mer- 
cies s: " Father of all goodness, Source of all hap- 
piness, what obligations arm I under to thee for thy 
continual care ! Thou art the God of my life, and 
the length of my days. Thou hast granted me 
life and i^rour, and thy visitation hath preserved 
my spirit. It was by thy grace I was first direct- 
ed into the happy path ; by thy wisdom I have 
hitherto been guided through all the various chan- 
ges and manifold difficulties of my past life : to 
thee I owe the peace of my conscience, the reputa- 
tion of my character, the supplies of my table, and 
the enjoyment of my health ; from thee it is I 
have derived all the knowledge I have, the comfort 
I enjoy, and the sweet hope of that glorious im- 
mortality promised to them that love thee ; by 
thee it is I have been upheld in slippery paths, 
preserved in dangerous moments, directed in try- 
ing circumstances, and supplied in times of need : 
to thee, therefore, O my God and Saviour, be all 
the praise. I will bless thee at all times ; thy 
praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul 
shall make her boast in the Lord. My tongue 
shall talk of thy rightegusness all the day long." 



IN MIDDLE AGE. 79 

»^ Thy grace shall dwell upon my heart. 

And shed its fragrance there ; 
The noblest balm of all its wounds. 

And cordial of its care. 

I'll speak the honours of thy name 

With my last laboring breath, 
And, dying, clasp thee in my arms. 

The antidote of death." doddridge. 

Lastly, from what the christian has seen of the 
mutability of all things here, and the faithfulness 
of his God, he is led to trust more in him. He is 
conscious that all things are under the guidance of 
his providence, and that he alone can givt; wisdom 
profitable to direct. He reads with delight sucli 
passages as these : " Call upon me in the day of 
trouble, and I will answer thee, and thou shall glo- 
rify me. Trust in the Lord with al! thine heart, 
and lean not to thine own understanding. In all 
thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct 
thy paths. Casting all your care upon him, for 
he careth for you."' Ps. i. 15, Prov. iii. 5, 6. 1 
Pet. V- 5. He has seen the vanity of placing con- 
fidence in earthly things. He has been disappoint- 
ed by his own heart, v/ounded by the world, de- 
ceived by flattering appearances, and injured by- 
trusting to an arm of flesh. He learns therefore 
the necessity, finds the safety, and enjoys the com- 
fort of depending on him who is without variable- 
ness, or the least shadow of a turning. The re- 
membrance, too, of the divine conduct towards him 
in days that are past inspires his confidence. God 
has conducted him through the dreary valley, ena-^ 
bled him to climb the lofty mountam, kept him 



80 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN 

from sinking in the deep river, abated the storm, 
or sheltered him from its violence. His wants 
have been supplied, his steps directed, his enemies 
conquered, his trials sanctified, and his soul en- 
couraged to go forward. It is with pleasure there- 
fore, he can sing, " The Lord is my Shepherd : 
I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in 
green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still wa- 
ters. He restoreth my soul ; he leadeth me in 
the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shad- 
ow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art v/ith 
me ; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me, 
Tiiou preparest a table before me in the presence 
of mine enemies ; thou anointest my head with 
oil ; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and 
mercy shall follow me ail the days of my life, and 
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 
Ps. xxiii. 

Thus we see the christian at middle age, not- 
withstanding those anxieties and cares which at- 
tend him in that part of life, possessing serious 
reflections as to the past, and becoming thoughts 
as to the future ; bearing testimony to the Lord's 
benignity and care toward him, increasing in judg- 
ment and prudence, deliberate in his determina- 
tions, steady in his work, useful in his situation, 
grateful for the innumerable benefits conferred up- 
on him, and desirous of giving up himself to the 
all-wise disposal of his sovereign Lord. 

Our business in this little volume is rather to 
portray the experience than to point out the du- 
ties of the christian ; as this Work, however, may 



IN MIDDLE AGE. Si 

fall into Che hands of some professors who are busi- 
ly engaged in the concerns of life, a suitable caution 
may not be unnecessary. We would say to them, 
beware of inordinate love to the world. The cares 
of this life ensnare the mind, entangle the affec- 
tions, draw the heart from God, and leave but little 
time for devotion and improvement. Worldly care 
and the spirit of religion cannot dwell together j 
they are two contrary principles : there is no such 
thing as associating such opposite sentiments. Fire 
and water, light and darkness, heat and cold, can- 
not be incorporated. How cautious, therefore, 
should we be, especially too when w^e see so many 
injured and ruined through a fatal connexion with 
the world, and an anxious pursuit of its interest I 
Lot's wife looked back, but she w^as turned into a pil- 
lar of salt. Esau sold his birth-right for a morsel of 
meat ; but he was rejected, and found no place of 
repentance, though he sought it carefully with 
tears. Balaam loved the wages of unrighteous- 
ness ; but he was rebuked for his iniquity, and 
perished in the gainsaying of Core. Judas betray- 
ed his Master for thirty pieces of silver ; but, alas i 
existence became a burden to him, and he went 
and hanged himself. These are awful monui-nents 
of the divine displeasure towards those who were 
carried away with the love of the world. We can- 
not, then, be too watchful, lest, whilst managing 
the concerns of business, the interests of our fami- 
lies, and pursuing the avocations of life, we 
should be swallowed up by a love of worldly inter- 
est. Reader, if you are called to busy scenes, and 
to take upon you the cares of temporal things^ &a-» 
H 2 



82 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN 

deavour to maintain a vigilant spirit : retreat now 
and then from the hum of business " into the salu- 
tary shade consecrated to devotion and to wis- 
dom.'' Providence, perhaps, may have called you 
to serve ; but beware of being cumbered with 
much serving. It is not activity, diligence, and at- 
tention, we are here proscribing ; but it is a too 
anxious spirit, a cleaving to the dust, a covetous 
disposition, a worldly mind, against which we 
would guard you. " For they that ivill be rich, 
fall into temptation and a snare, and inio many 
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drov/n men in 
destruction and perdition. For the love of money 
is the root of all evil, which, while some coveted 
after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced 
themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Tim. 
vi. 9, 10. " The cares of this world, and the de- 
ceitfuiness of riches, and the lust of other things, 
entering in, choke the word, and it becometh un- 
fruitful." Mark iv. 19, 

Let me recommend to you to be found much in 
prayer. By this mean you will be preserved from 
the evil of the world, while you are in it : you will 
carry a savour of divine things into your business ; 
it will sweeten toil, and alleviate care. Now if 
ever, indeed, while surrounded with those things 
that have a tendency to wean the soul from God, 
is prayer necessary. Without grace from above, 
your danger will be great ; but by committing 
yourself to him who alone is able to keep you from 
falling, you will stand secure. Your prayers must 
be adapted to your circumstances ; but few 
prayers will be more suitable in your situation 



IN MIDDLE AGE. S3 

than that of Agur : '^ Remove far from me vanity 
and lies ; give me neither poverty nor riches ; 
feed me with food convenient for me. Lest I be 
full, and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord ? or 
lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my 
God in vain." Prov. xxx. 8, 9. 

Reader, are you in the flower of life ? study to 
be useful : now you have health, strength, influ- 
ence, and opportunity, be active for God, and the 
benefit of mankind. Let not this period be wholly 
engrossed with the cares of the world. Work 
while it is day. Let it not be said of you, that you 
are a blank in creation ; that you have talents, but 
they are hidden ; property, but it is withheld ; op- 
portunity, but it is neglected. O what a sad thing 
should this be your epitaph : " Here lies one, who 
never did any thing for God, for the church, or for 
mankind 1" And yet of how many may this be said, 
and of how many professors too 1 The first part of 
life is lost in insignificant pursuits ; the middle 
part is spent in anxious concerns about temporal 
things ; and the last is burdened with complaints 
and infirmities. Reader, is the morning of life 
past with you ? Recollect how soon it will be even- 
ing ; how soon darkness and death will come up- 
on you ; how soon all opportunities will be gone to 
return no more. Be assured, when death draws 
near, you will not have to lament that you have 
done too much ; rather you will regret the sea- 
sons that have been lost, privileges undervalued, 
mercies slighted, and time misimproved. O, how 
miserable to pass aw^ay a life of inactivity and noth- 
ingness ; and how dreadful to be under the re- 



J4 EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN, &C. 

flection, that nothing has been done to promote the 
glory of God, or add to the happiness of mankind ! 
May divine grace, dear reader, enable you to live 
and to work for God, that you niay be saved from 
such a reflection as this ; and, at last, hear the hap- 
py sentence pronounced, " Well done, good and 
faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord." 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. %5 



CHAP. V, 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

WHAT was said of the children of Israel, that 
they were much discouraged because of the 
way, may with great propriety be applied to many 
christians, while travelling through this vale of 
tears. It is true the Israelites were under the pe- 
culiar direction of the Almighty ; he was their 
governor, benefactor, and guide ; yet they were 
exposed to a variety of difficulties and trials. Thus 
too it is with his people now : they are the ob- 
jects of his love, directed by his grace ; held by 
his hand, and supplied by his bounty ; yet they are 
not exempt from discouragements. Many, it is 
said, are the afflictions of the righteous, and 
through great tribulation they enter into the king- 
dom. What, then, it may be asked, is the service 
in which they are engaged hard and intolerable ? 
Is the cause in which they have embarked evil ? Is 
the master whom they serve despotic and tyranni- 
cal ? Or is the object which they have in view in- 
sufficient to animate their hopes, and so unimportant 
as not to produce encouragement ? We answer, no. 
On the contrary, the system in which they believe, 
and the prospect they have before them, are every 



86 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

way calculated to inspire their hopes, to remove 
their fears, and excite their confidence. But man 
is a feeble creature ; nor does his conversion ren- 
der him an angel. He is subject to many fears, 
attended with many infirmities ; and though even 
walking in the right road, too often, alas ! has reason 
to mourn over his deviations and follies. It may 
be obser\^d* however, on the whole, that his sor- 
row arises not from the principles he holds, or the 
end he has in view, but from a sense of his defects. 
It is a supposition of the want of religion, and not 
the possession of it, as too many imagine, that causes 
him to mourn. Not but outward calamities, and 
the common afflictions of life, are felt by him as 
well as others ; for though grace makes the chris- 
tian, it does not unmake the man : he has the com- 
m^on feelings of humanity, though aspiring after 
the fortitude of the saint. These troubles are not, 
however, the chief sources of his grief, though 
they tend to accumulate it. Did he possess all that 
lively exercise of faith, that ardent love, deep hu- 
mility, calm resignation, holy zeal, and constant 
gratitude, which he wishes, outward things would 
not much affect him : his spiritual foes would gain 
but little advantage, and his joy would be but seldom 
interrupted. But, alas, the best of men have at 
times to lament the want of these : hence their 
souls refuse comfort ; and in proportion as they 
possess sincere regard for their God, they feel 
unhappy in any departures from his laws. Nor is 
the present state of things calculated to cherish 
these divine principles. The world is polluted, 
and the streams of depravity liow in all directions. 



distressii4g experience. 87 

Those whose dispositions are still congenial with 
this corruption, feel no conflict, no disgust, no 
trial ; but those who have participated of the divine 
nature, who are breathing after holiness, feel the 
opposition, and lament its baneful effects. Hence 
pur Saviour's words are verified in this as in many 
other respects : '' In the world ye shall have 
tribulation." 

It is to be observed, also, that this is not peculiar 
to a few. It is too common for distressed chris- 
tians to imagine that their case is singular : but, 
no ; for tnough there may be some who do not feel 
the same pungent sorrow as others, yet at one time 
or other they all are discouraged. No, disconso- 
late christian, think not that you are alone. 
Thousands have been, and thousands now are, ex- 
posed to as painful exercises as you. Were you 
but better acquainted with them, you would find 
that their experience in a great measure resembles 
yours : and could you but ask the spirits of the just 
made perfect above, they would tell you that there 
were seasons in which they bore the same conflicts, 
and were filled with the same despondencies as you. 

^' Once they were mourning here below. 

And wet their couch with tears : 
They wrestled hard, as we do now. 

With sins, and doubts, and fears.'* 

But reason asks, why, why does the sovereign 
Lord and Controller of all events suffer these 
things ? Does he not possess infinite love to his peo- 
ple ? And is not love productive of every thing that 
is delightful where power is not wanting ? To 
which it may be answered, That the wisdom of 



88 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

God hath so constituted it, and that, no doubt, to an- 
swer the most valuable ends. Nor can his goodness 
be impeached, since our very tnals endear him to 
us, wean from the world, produce humility, excite 
dependence, and make us long for that happy state 
where all shall be unfolded, and we shall clearly 
see that all thmgs have worked together for our 
good. 

But let us now proceed to consider those cir- 
cumstances which more particularly enter into the 
distressing experience of the christian. And, first, 
we may observe, that a deep view of his own un- 
worthiness otten discourages him. Convinced of 
the holiness of God's law, and of the purity of the 
divine nature, he mourns over the little conformi- 
ty he finds to the divine image. Observing the 
pridcr the vanity, the indifference, the treachery 
and unbelief of his heart, he trembles before God. 
Other enemies are around him, waiting an oppor- 
tunity for an attack ; but this is within him, con- 
tinually harassing and distressing him. Its se- 
cret intrigues, its various windings and turnings, 
its mutability and vileness, its readiness to coal- 
esce with every surrounding object, its evasive 
shifts, its artifice and cunning, its infidelity and hy- 
pocrisy, with a long train of other abominations, 
all tend to depress the mind, weaken the faith, and 
damp the joy of the christian. O how do these 
corruptions cause him to drag on heavily ! how do 
they deprive him of comfort, spoil his duties, and 
render him a burden to himself! Perhaps no out- 
ward troubles ever become such a source of distress 
as this. His reproaches, afilictions, losses, and be- 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 89 

reavementsj may be sanctified ; he may be greatly 
supported under them, yea, his greatest faith, 
patience, resignation, and fortitude, may be dis- 
played in them. Say, christian, -what is it that 
grieves thee most. Is it thy poverty ; the indignity 
thrown upon thee for Christ's sake ; the loss of 
worldly goods ; or the deprivation of health and of 
earthly joys ? No ; it is the risings of corruption ; 
the coldness, the little spirituality of thy heart ; 
the strange backwardness at times to engage in the 
best of services ; the vile thoughts, the dull af- 
fections towards God. It is these things that cause 
him to hang down his head. The apostle Paul 
could glory in infirmities, reproaches, necessities, 
persecutions, and distresses for Christ's sake ; but 
when he comes to behold himself, and to observe 
the depravity of his own heart, he declares himself 
to be wretched, and the least of all God's saints. It 
is this that causes many to doubt of their interest 
in the divine favour. " Can I," saith the convinced 
soul, " can I be an object of divine love ? Can I, 
who have nothing but vileness and sin, be a subject 
of grace ? Where is that holy confidence in God, 
that patience of hope, that ardour of love, that char- 
acterise the true believer ? Were I a christian, 
should I not oftener enjoy communion with God, 
watch against the world, and discover more zeal in 
his cause ? Ah, me ! what inactivity mark my 
steps ! w^hat feeble desires, what secret backslid- 
ings ! And though I hate sin, yet, alas I how ready 
to listen to the tempter I how ready to give way t« 
a busy imagination ; ever painting things different 
to what they are 1 Alas I how can I approach his 
I 



90 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

throne, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniqui* 
ty ! How can I associate with his people, when I 
myself am so unlike them ! How can I visit his 
house to worship him, when my heart wanders from 
him." Thus the christian sometimes mourns, 
and, forgetting that all these feelings are the result 
of light and of grace, writes bitter things against 
himself. " Thine arrows stick fast in me ; mine 
iniquities have gone over my head ; as an heavy 
burden, they are too heavy for me. I am 
troubled ; I am bowed down greatly : I go mourn- 
ing all the day long. I am ready to halt, and my 
sorrow is continually before me." Ps. xxxviii. 
And what is the cause ? " For that which I do, I 
allow not ; for what I would, that do I not ; but 
what I hate, that I do. The good that I would, I 
do not ; but the evil I would not, that I do. When 
I would do good, evil is present with me. It is 
true, I delight in the law of God, after the inward 
man, but I see another law in my members, war- 
ring against the law of my mind, and bringing me 
into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my 
members. O wretched man that I am !" Rom. vii. 
The insinuations of Satan become another source 
of distress. That there is such a being, the scrip- 
ture gives us every reason to believe, (Matt. ii. 29. 
Eph. ii. 2. John xii. SI. 2 Cor. iv. 4.) although 
many deny his existence, and endeavour to explain 
away the effects of his agency, by attributing them 
to vision, a deluded imagination, or a weak mind. 
This being is an enemy of the human race at large, 
but more especially malignant against them who 
bear the divine image. When the sons of God 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 91 

came lo present themselves before the Lord, Satan 
also came among them. Job i. 6. Satan hath de- 
sired to have thee, said our Lord, that he may sift 
thee as wheat. Luke xxii. 31. Be sober, be vigi- 
lant, saith the apostle, because your adversary the 
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking 
whom he may devour. • 1 Pet. v. 8. There is no 
doubt but many easily persuade themselves, that 
every evil that arises, every temptation that is pro- 
posed, comes from this quarter ; but whatever ex- 
treme such may run into, it is evident that the 
forementioned passages imply that much opposi- 
tion must be expected from this great enemy. 
Those, indeed, who are wholly under his influence 
feel no struggle ; they are voluntarily going the 
way he would have them ; but those who are travel- 
ling a contrary road continually experience his at- 
tacks. How often does he insinuate that there is 
no God ; no future state of rewarda and punish- 
ments ; no truth in the sacred volume ; that re- 
ligion is unnecessary, and that there can be no 
harm in the gratification of our passions ! Or, if 
there be a God, that he is too great to take notice 
of t)ie affairs of mortals, too merciful to punish 
their infirmities, and too compassionate to require 
of them uniform obedience. Or, allowing that 
God calls for sincerity of heart, devout worship, 
and unreserved affection, yet how ready is he to in- 
sinuate that the christian has no interest in his 
favour ; that his sins are too great to be pardoned; 
that all his past experience has been nothing but 
the effect of his own imagination ; that he has been 
deceiving himself; that he is guilty of presump- 



^^ BISTRESSIXG EXPERIENCE. 

tion ; that, after all his profession, he will be cast 
away from the divine presence, and abandoned td 
everlasting misery and w^o ! How has he brought 
past sins to remembrance, accused of neglect, in- 
gratitude, and disobedience ; yea, how has he 
pleaded the injSrmities of human nature, and es- 
pecially those which have taken place since the 
christian first made a profession, in order to make 
him believe that he is only a hypocrite ! yea, he 
has sometimes insinuated that he has committed 
die sin against the Holy Ghost, which has filled the 
mind for a season with the greatest distress. Thus 
wearied with the continual assault of this great 
adversary, how discouraged and perplexed has the 
christian been ! and were it not for the supplies of 
grace and strength from on high, how often would 
his foot have slipped, and his soul been plunged 
into all the horrors of guilt and despair I 

This great enemy, also, greatly harasses the 
christian by his vigilance, restless activity, and cun- 
ning. He knows how to suit his temptations to the 
various circumstances, sentiments, and feelings of 
mankind. He has temptations for the eye, the 
ear, the taste ; yea, all the senses of man. We 
may change our situation, alter our condition, and 
remove into a different sphere ; but behold he is 
there also. He has temptations suitable to youth, 
to age, to opulence, to poverty ; to retirement, to 
society, to ignorance, to knowledge ; yea, to every 
object, every circumstance, and every place. Noth- 
ing of a prosperous nature, but what he is ready to 
turn into a snare ; nothing of a discouraging kind, 
feut what he is busy to convert into a source of dis^ 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 93 

content. Thus he is ever active to spoil, disturb, 
confuse, and, where he can, to destroy. How much 
does a good man, notwithstanding all his vigilance, 
suffer from this foe of God and of man ! How often 
is he wounded in the conflict ! and though the God 
of his salvation has determined his final happiness 
in the end, how frequently is it interrupted in the 
way ! 

The scriptures assure as also that he transforms 
himself into an angel of light, 2 Cor. xi. 14. and 
here, again, the believer suffers. He not only de- 
ceives mere professors, by putting them upon plans 
of activity, of zeal, and of religion, while nothing but 
self is at the bottom, and nothing but error and in- 
consistency the consequence, but he would fain make 
the true believer suppose that his pride is noth* 
ing but a proper dignity, or his humility unnecessa- 
ry abasement ; that his natural courage is christiar^ 
fortitude, or that his timidity is a becoming fear. 
In innumerable instances of this kind is he attack- 
ed ; often is he injured, and loses much of his com- 
fort through the wiles and stratagems, devices and 
cunning artifices of this deceiver of mankind. 
What necessity does the christian find here for ar- 
dent prayer, perpetual watchfulness, and entire de- 
pendence on a superior Power, lest he fall a con- 
tinual victim to his insidious snares and cunning 
machinations I 

As the christian is exposed to opposition from 
the god of this world, so of course he cannot fail 
to be discouraged by his emissairieii. He stirs up 
the ungodly to slander, misrepresent, and perse* 
£iUe. Hence what distress have christians be>m 
I 2 



94 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

involved in through the malice and enmity of wick- 
ed men ! • Who can read the xi. chap, of the He- 
brews, without the deepest emotions of sorrow ? 
" They were tortured, not accepting of deliverance, 
that they might obtain a better resurrection. Oth- 
ers had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings ; 
yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They 
were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempt- 
ed, were slain with the sword ; they wandered a- 
bout in sheep skins and goat skins, being destitute, 
afflicted, tormented : they wandered in deserts, 
and in mountains, and in dens, and caves of the 
earth." And since the apostle's day, what dread- 
ful accounts does history aiford of the cruelties 
exercised towards the righteous i Alas ! what 
houses ravaged, what property confiscated, what san- 
guinary methods adopted, what multitudes insult- 
ed, racked, banished, imprisoned, burnt, drowned, 
•starved, or otherwise destroyed \ It is true every 
age has not witnessed the same bloody scenes, the 
same excess of violence, the same horrid tortures ; 
but as true christians are the same in every age, 
the world has been against them ; and if milder 
laws have been adopted for the protection of their 
persons, and free toleration given for the ease o.f 
their consciences, yet their sentiments have not 
been less hated by, or their persons less obnoxious 
to, the wicked. As long also as Christianity incul- 
cates faithfulness and sincerity, purity and devotion, 
and as long as the heart of man retains its natural 
enmity against God, must we expect this opposi- 
tion from them in a greater or less degree. Our 
ce^Qscientiousness will be construed into affected 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 95 

singularity, our solitude termed monkishness, our 
zeal denominated forwardness, our experience en- 
thusiasm, our patience apathy, and our devotion 
hypocrisy. Say, christian, however circumspectly 
you have acted, whether these have not been some 
of the charges alleged against you by the devotees 
of this world. Their cold looks, their bitter 
speeches, their indifferent conduct towards you, 
have fully convinced you that the spirit is the same, 
and fully explains the words of our Lord : " If yc 
were of the world, the world would love his own : 
but because ye are not of the world, but I have cho- 
sen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth 
you." John xv. 19. 

But a good man's opposition does not arise solely 
from the openly profane. There are those who 
pretend to be going the same road ; but, alas 1 
from ignorance, from bigotry, from prejudices, 
Irom enthusiasm, or from hatred to vital Christian- 
ity, often dishearten and perplex : some injure his 
mind, by boasting of their fancied righteousness ; 
others make him tremble, by turning liberty into 
licentiousness : some are ready to pour anathemas 
on his head, because he cannot believe with them ; 
others treat him as a weak brother, because he is 
not always talking of the mysterious doctrines and 
eternal purposes of Jehovah : while others, again, 
are ready to unchristianize him, because he has 
seen the propriety of tempering his zeal with 
knowledge, and prefers cool deliberations to rash 
decisions. But, of all things, what distresses him 
most is to see the once flaming professor become 
an apostate, and turning back again to the worlds 



96 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE*, 

and to his former courses. O, how does the chris- 
tian feel for the cause ! how is religion dishonour- 
ed, his Divine Master neglected, and privileges 
abused by such a conduct ! How do the enemies of 
truth triumph, and what fresh occasion is given for 
their insult and contempt 1 Apostates seldom re- 
turn silent ; they come back ten fold more the 
children of the devil than ever they were before. 
They are generally filled with the deepest maligni- 
ty ; they give a bad report of the land, and as they 
reiurn, they use their utmost influence to turn oth- 
ers back too. The world is ready to listen to their 
misrepresentations, and thus their prejudice is in- 
creased. Young professors are struck dumb. 
Those who before were indifferent, now renounce 
all pretensions ; while the hypocrite is encouraged 
in his dissimulation, and the ungodly hardened in 
his sins. O, christian, what sensations are yours, 
while beholding these awful consequences of wilful 
apostasy ! What tears do you shed I what sorrow 
do you experience while witnessing your Saviour 
crucified afresh, and put to an open shame ! Heb. 
vi. 6. Thus, when the Lord said of Saul that he 
turned back from following him, and had not kept 
his commandments, that it grieved Samuel ; and 
he cried unto the Lord all night. 1 Sam. xv. II. 
Thus Jeremiah mourns, " O that my head were 
waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I 
might weep day and night — because they have/or- 
sak€?i the law which the Lord set before them.'* 
Jer. ix. 1,13. Thus Paul laments that Demas had 
forsaken him, having loved this present evil world. 
1 Tim. iv. 10. 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 97 

But while the christian is thus concerned, his 
distress is increased by remembering; that he too is 
in the flesh, and consequently exposed to danger. 
Here again he suffers, and is dejected : how of- 
ten have we heard him say, " Alas ! I too also 
may fall. Who can tell perhaps I may one day be 
overcome by the allurements of the world, the vio- 
lence of my own corruptions, or the temptations of 
Satan ? Perhaps I may be permitted to commit 
some gross sin, and thus bring dishonour on my 
profession. I feel an evil heart of unbelief ready to 
start aside. Ah ! the evil day may come, in which 
I may be pointed to as the v/retched apostate, and 
avoided as the base traitor, who has again crucified 
his Lord." Thus the christian, overwhelmed with 
fears, has trembled lest he should offend his God, 
and injure that cause in which he is earnestly and 
sincerely engaged. 

But it may be asked, are not these fears some- 
times realised ? Do not real christians themselves 
fall ? We answer, Yes. And here we come to the 
most painful part of his experience. Some indeed 
are happily kept, but others have been suffered to 
wander from the path of duty for a season. Moses, 
the meekest of men, was guilty of rashness ; Sam- 
son, the strongest of men, shewed his weakness ; 
David, the holiest of men, manifested depravity ; 
and Peter, the most zealous of men, evidenced his 
cowardice. But do believers live in a course of 
transgression ? do they return no more ? are they 
hardened in their sin ? do they feel no compunc- 
tion of heart for their conduct ? Unnappy men ! 
their misery is extreme. What horrors of con- 



9H DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

science, what bitter reflections, what a hell do they 
feel, till restored again to the path of duty and the 
enjoyment of the divine presence ! " The true 
penitent," cries the backsliding christian, " the 
true penitent, who never before made any profes- 
sion of religion, penetrated with a sense of his un- 
worthiness. confessing his sins, and returning with 
anxious desire to his heavenly Father's bosom, 
may indulge the pleasing thought of being receiv- 
ed and accepted ; but how can I, who have sinned 
agasijst light, abused mercy, and grieved the Holy 
Spirit, expect to be an object of divme favour ? 
How can I, who have violated reason, forgotten my 
obligations, neglected my privileges, and broke 
through air the restraints of kindness, how can I 
appear with any degree of confidence at the sacred 
throne ? How can 1, whose steps have deviated 
from the path of duty, who have listened to the 
voice of worldly charms, and been deaf to the re- 
monstrances of conscience and of truth, enter into 
the divine presence with the least hope of mercy ? 
Ah, wretched delinquent 1 miserable man I w^here 
shall I fly ? Where shall I hide my blushing face ? 
What power can relieve me now ? What worldly 
good can be a substitute for the loss of that peace 
I once enjoyed ?" Thus the backslider bemoans 
himself, and, filled with distress, he knows not 
what to do, where to go, or liow to act. Misery is 
painted in his countenance, fear seizes his soul, 
while guilt presses on him as an intolerable load. 
Under such feelings, and in such circumstances as 
these, it was that David exclaimed, '' I acknowl- 
edge my transgression, and my sin is ever before 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 99 

me. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; 
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide thy 
face from mine iniquities, and blot out all my sins.'* 
Thus Jonah : '' Out of the belly of hell cried I. 
I said, I am cast out of thy sight. My soul fainted 
within me." Thus of Peter, too, it is said, that 
<' he went out, and wept bitterly." Ps. li. Jon. ii. 
26. Matt. XXXV. 

But it is not open transgression only that affects 
the christian. Many have reason to be thankful 
they have been preserved from this ; but there are 
secret backslidings, the wanderings of the thoughts, 
and the coldness of the affections, that prove occa- 
sions of great distress to a tender conscience. He 
would fain imbibe the lovely spirit and imitate the 
noble example of his Saviour ; " but, alas !" says 
he, " my best hours are not free from sinful in- 
firmities, nor my best duties from sinful imperfec- 
tions. These, like a worm at the root, eat away 
the vigour of my graces, and tarnish the beauty of 
my services. O such swarms of unruly and irreg- 
ular desires ! When, O when shall they all be 
brought into subjection I Lord, when I engage in 
any spiritual duty, or heavenly exercise ; when I 
draw near to thee, and promise myself some sweet 
converse and communion with thee, yea, even then, 
this evil is present with me I O if I were but rid 
of it in these hours, what a mercy should I esteem 
it, though I were troubled with it at other times ! 
Could I but be free from it in the seasons of duty, 
on Sabbaths, and sacramental occasions, what a com- 
fort would it be I But, alas 1 sin is most active and 
busy in such seasons ; it takes off my heart from 



100 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

duty ; it interrupts all my thoughts, and carries 
off my soul from my beloved. So that even the 
good motions which come from the Spirit of God 
are either interrupted, or mingled with some evil 
tendencies. No sooner do I attempt to do any thing 
for God and his glory, but I find something pre- 
sented, either of self-love or vain glory : hypocrisy 
or unbelief will be springing up, either to distress 
my soul, to prevent or spoil all my services. Lord, 
I come hither to meet with thee, I come to obtain 
fresh strength against sin, and yet it seems to bear 
down all before it. I come for light, but behold 
darkness ; for comfort, but behold trouble. Once 
I thought I had little to do but to triumph over all 
my corruptions, slain, as I then hoped, by the pow- 
er and grace of Christ. My heart and affections 
began to warm and melt in duty, my soul seemed 
to get near to God ; but, alas ! how different is it 
now with me ! sin seems more powerful than ever. 

what reason then have I to complain with the 
apostle, that when I would do good, evil is present 
with me !" See Dr. Stafford on the vii. ch. Rom. 
Ser. 20, p. 383. 

Another source of distress to the christian is the 
hiding of God's face. This is a sore trial, as we 
may find from the language of those who have ex- 
perienced it. " O,'' says Job, " that I knew where 

1 might find him, that I might come even to his 
seat. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there ; 
and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the 
left hand, where he doth w^ork, but I cannot behold 
him ; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I 
cannot see him.** " Lord/' says David, " why 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 101 

casteth thou off my soul ? Why hidest thou thy 
face from me ? I am afflicted, and ready to die : 
while I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted." " He 
hath led me,'' says Jeremiah, " and brought me 
into darkness, but not into light. Surely against 
me is he turned ; he turneth his hand against me 
all the day. He hath hedged me about, that I can- 
not get out ; he hath made my chains heavy." So 
Zion complains, " The Lord hath forsaken me, 
and my Lord hath forgotten me." Job xxiii. 
Ps. Ixxxviii. 15. Lam. iii. 1, &c. Isa. xlix. 14. 

Ah ! what does the christian feel in this unhap- 
py situation ? All the beauties of creation, the 
blessings of Providence, the smiles of the creature, 
or the wonders of art, cannot fill up that aching 
void which he now experiences. In proportion as 
he loves his God, so he feels his distress arise 
when deprived of the light of his countenance. 
As thousands of inferior luminaries could not sup- 
ply the place of the sun, so he finds that all the 
inferior joys of the present state cannot be a sub- 
stitute for the glorious Sun of Righteousness. 
Existence itself becomes a burden ; every thing is 
insipid. His soul refuses comfort, ministers, or- 
dinances, sabbaths ; yea, even the promises them- 
selves afford him no consolation. He walks in 
darkness, and has no light. Now it is, too, he 
begins to doubt whether he ever knew the truth, 
and felt its power. He is almost ready to imag- 
ine that God is about to give him up to the hor- 
rors of a guilty conscience. The monuments of 
divine justice are brought to his view : be trem- 
bles at the recollection of an Achan, a Saul, a Ju- 

K 



102 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

clas. He reads those passages of scripture which 
• say, " I also will choose their delusion, and will 
. bring their fears upon them. This shall ye have 
CVI. of mine hand ; ye shall lie down in sorrow. They 
4- shall call upon me, but I will not answer ; they 
shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. 
I will laugh at their calamity, 1 will mock when 
their fear cometh.'' Is. 1. 11. Prov. i. 23, &c. 
These scriptures he is ready to apply to himself, 
and sometimes such has been the greatness of his 
distress, that, with a busy imagination and a 
gloomy mind, every circumstance has been con- 
verted into an occasion of grief. If a threatening 

* • • • • 

be pronounced from the pulpit, he thinks it is 

against him. If a friend inadvertently drop an 
unpleasant word, he conceives that it is sent by 
Providence as a testimony against him. If afflic- 
tion seizes him, be imagines it is the wrath of 
God poured out upon him. If even he meet but 
with a look of indifference from any of the saints? 
he construes it to their contempt of him, and that 
God thus suf^'ers it for his punishment. Thus the 
christian sometimes thinks all things are against 
him. Yet hoAvever, notwithstanding all, he can- 
not go back ; he dare not give up : he struggles 
and longs for deliverance ; nor can he be satisfied 
until the Lord appear, and the Spirit bear witness 
with his spirit, that he is born of God. It is this 
he wishes to ascertain ; and, like the poet, ex- 
claims, 

" 'Tis a point I long to know. 
Oft it causes anxious thought, 

Do I love the Lord or no, 
Am I his, or am I not. 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 103 

If I love, why am I thus ? 

Why this dull and lifeless frame ? 
Hardly, sure, can they be worse. 

Who have never heard his name. 

Lord, decide the doubtful case ; 

Thou, who art thy people's sun, 
Sliine upon thy work of grace. 

If it be indeed begun." 

Newton^. 

We may add once more, that, to many chris- 
tians, the thought of approaching dissolution be- 
comes a source of distress. Death, indeed, in it- 
self is awful, and few can look forward to it with- 
out feeling some degree of tremor ; but of all 
characters, none ought to meet it with such con- 
fidence as the christian. To him it will be a 
pleasant change, and so far from being a matter of 
dread, it should excite him to rejoice. Yet, alas ! 
how many christians are all their lifetime subject 
to bondage through the fear of it ! They can look 
back, and bear a happy testimony to that goodness 
and mercy which have always followed them ; but 
when they look forward, behold it is all a gloom. 
" If, after all," say they, " we should be left to 
sink in the swellings of Jordan ! How dreadful 
then to find that God has withdrawn his influence, 
and to be left to struggle with pain and with death 
without his support ! O how awful to see the King 
of Terrors in dread array ; to witness the world 
receding, eternity opening, and the, summons 
sent to appear before the Most High God, to give 
an account of every action done in the body, wheth- 
er good or bad !" Thus christians sometimes in- 



104 DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 

erease their own misery, and through unbelief ex- 
perience those sorrows in life which scarcely ever 
are they suffered to feel in the hour of death.—. 
We have now just cursorily run through the tri- 
als of a christian. They may not be felt alike by 
all. Some may be more exposed to one, and some 
to another ; but they all have something to strug- 
gle with while here. It is necessary, however, to 
answer an objection, which, on a review of this 
part of the christian experience, may be started. 
" Where is the advantage of being a christian," it 
may be said, " if there be so much distress in his 
experience ?" We answer, Were this distress to 
last always, the question might be well asked. 
But this is not the case.* " Weeping may endure 
for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. He 
that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, 
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing 
his sheaves with him." Ps. xxx. 5. cxxxvi. 6. 
His experience, it is true, is distressing, but it 
is all a token for good, it is all for a wise end. He 
weeps for the present, that he may rejoice in fu- 
ture. He is cast down, but it is that he may be 
lifted up. But, after all, supposing that his sorrow 
was perpetual here on earth, still it is better to 
mourn here, than forever hereafter ; to weep in 
time, than in eternity ; to feel a hell in this world, 
than in that which is to come. " Blessed are they 
that mourn, for they shall be comforted. To this 
man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a 
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and 

* See next chapter. 



DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE. 105 

there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor 
crying — they shall see his face — and reign forever 
and ever.'* Matt. v. 4. Is. Ixvi. 2. Rev. xxi. 4. 

But I cannot dismiss this chapter without giv- 
ing encouragement to those whose experience is 
so distressing. Remember that, if God had de- 
termined to have left you to yourself, to have 
abandoned you to wretchedness, he would not 
have penetrated your heart, convinced you of your 
depravity, wrouglit concern in your breast, and 
filled you with such anxious desire to glorify him. 
That deep humiliation, that strong conviction, 
that pungent distress you feel on account of your 
sin, is not the work of nature nor the production 
of Satan ; but of God, who wounds that he may 
heal ; who kills, that he may make alive. 

But you are looking forward, perhaps, to discour- 
agements yet to come. Your soul is cast down with- 
in you, because there are still powerful enemies to 
be encountered, and various troubles to be borne. 
Christian, recollect the advice of thy best friend : 
" Take no thought for the morrow ; for the mor- 
row shall take thought for the things of itself: suf- 
ficient unto the day is the evil thereof.'' Matt, 
vi. 34. Consider, too, that you have a wise guide ; 
one who has travelled the way before you, who 
knows all its difficulties, and is well acquainted 
with all its dangers. He can cause you to know 
the way wherein you should walk. Follow his 
footsteps, and you cannot go wrong. Act in char- 
acter as one of his ; for '^ when he putteth forth 
his own sheep he goeth before them, and the sheep 
follow him, for they know his voice.'* Job. x. 4» 
K 2 



106 DISTIIESSING EXPERIENCE. 

You have also a strong guard. In a danger- 
ous road a guide is necessary, but is not always 
sufficient. But you, christian, have both a guide 
and a protector. What enemy but he can con- 
quer ? what mountain but he can make a plain ? 
what swelling flood but he can in a moment dry 
up ? He can make all things subservient to the ac- 
complishment of his purposes and the safety of 
his people : and what has he not said ? " When 
thou passest through the waters, I will be with 
thee, and through the rivers they shall not over- 
flow thee : when thou walkest through the fire 
thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kin- 
dle upon thee." Is. xliii. 2. 

You shall also not only be protected, but supplied. 
You may be faint by the way, your strength may 
be nearly exhausted, your hopes may be low, your 
faith shaken ; but " my God shall supply all your 
need, according to his riches in glory by Christ 
Jesus." He hath appointed places of refreshment 
by the way. His sabbath, his table, his word, his 
mercy seat, are all for your accommodation. Here, 
christian traveller, you shall be supported, your 
spiritual strength renewed : you shall yet say, 
^' The Lord is my Shepheixl ; I shall not want. 
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he 
leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth 
my soul ; he leadeth me in the paths of righteous- 
ness, for his name^s sake." 

Consider farther, too, for your encouragement, 
those who have gone before : you are not travel- 
ling an unknown road, through which none have 
passed. Consider their example, their supports^ 
their patience, their perseverance, their final tri- 



DISTRESSING EXPEiRlENCE. 107 

umph, and remember, their God is yours. The 
same hand that conducted them is leading you. 
Remember, too, O weary pilgrim, that you are 
not a solitary traveller ; you are not going alone. 
Look round you, and behold others in the same 
road. Throw off reserve, open your heart, and by 
the communication of your own experience you 
will in turn know the experience of others ; by 
which you will see that they are conflicting with 
the same enemies, meeting the same difficulties, 
and enduring the same trials as yourself. 

Consider, finally, the end you have in view. 
You are not walking in a path strewed with flow- 
ers, which leads to shame ; but a path which, 
although set with thorns, yet leads to glory. You 
may look forward with pleasure : every passing 
moment decreases the sum of your trials. The 
vehicle of time is carrying you rapidly away from 
all the storms and tempests of life. Think how 
soon you will be home, and, at home, never to re- 
turn. What, then, are a few trials by the way, 
wiien compared to the happiness of the end ? 
Think how much the crown of glory will outweigh 
the crown of thorns. O, how pleasant to reflect 
on the bright scenes of eternal felicity i " When 
the earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, 
we shall have a building of God ; an house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'* When 
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we 
also appear with him in glory." 

" There shall we bathe our weary souls 

Ih s<?as of heavenly vest. 
And not a wave of trouble roll 

Across our neaceful breast." Watts. 



l^S HAPPY EXPERIENCE, 



CHAP. VI. 



ON HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 



WHILE some christians are travelling in the 
dark valley, filled with fear, and ready to despond 
under a sense of their unworthiness, there are 
others who are on the mount, whose hopes are 
bright, and whose prospects are delightful and un- 
bounded. They can take a retrospective view of 
the divine conduct, and with a joyful confidence 
declare, that he hath done all things well. They 
can look round them, and with faith discern a wise 
hand directing every event, and over-ruling all for 
their good. They can look before them, and with 
joy anticipate the inheritance which is incorrupti- 
ble, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Such is 
the happy experience of many christians. Let it 
not be understood, however, that by happy expe- 
rience I always mean remarkable high emotions, 
ecstatic pleasures, or ravishing transports. These 
are scattered with a sparing hand, and are chiefly 
reserved for a better world. Prosperity of soul 
may exist without them, as the health of the body 
may be sound without the animal spirits being al- 
ways lively. Where, indeed, religion flourishes, 
cheerfulness will not be absent j and, from the 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 109 

nature of soul prosperity, we may conclude that it 
will produce that pleasure which contrary princi- 
ples proscribe. Yet let him that is sighing for 
spiritual health remember that he may attain to it 
without always experiencing the highest sensible 
joys. It is, perhaps, necessary to make this re- 
mark, as many have mistaken the nature of soul 
prosperity, and placed it more in strong and 
unspeakable sensations than in a ccTntrite and hum- 
ble spirit. That may be termed a happy experi- 
ence in general, in which love to God is the pre- 
vailing principle, notwithstanding there may be 
many discouragements in the way ; for where this 
becomes, as it were, the ruling passion, every 
thing else will be brought into subserviency to it. 
The heart will be affected, the thoughts generally 
conversant about divine things, and the deportment 
such as becometh the gospel of Christ; 

But may we not stop here, and ask, Is this the 
object sought for by the generality of the human 
race ? Is this the utmost wish of their hearts ? Is 
it for this they groan, they toil, they exert them- 
selves ? Ah ! sin, what hast thou done ! How 
hast thou inverted every thing ; and into what 
a deluded and dangerous patli hast thou directed 
the footsteps of man ! Any kind of prosperity is 
desired in preference to that of the soul. The 
honour of the world, the accumulation of riches, 
the decoration of the person, the seat of power, 
the plaudits of the multitude ; these are objects 
infinitely more important in the view of most men. 
These are the idols at whose shrine any sacrifice 
is made, any inconvenience suffered, so that these 



110 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

gods may be propitious. For what is all that bus- 
tle we see in life, that vigorous activity, that deep 
concern, that painful anxiety ? For what that the 
day is spent in labour, and the night refusing 
sleep ? For what that ingenuity plans her 
schemes ; that patience waits ; that perseverance 
crowns her labours ? Ah I for what that talents 
are displayed, opportunities embraced, and zeal, 
buzy zeal, pushing into action ? I ask, for what 
are all these ? For the glory of our Maker ; for 
the prosperity of the soul ; for the promotion of 
truth, and the enlargement of her empire ? Ah ! 
no. This activity is all confined to lime : the end 
that stimulates the exertion extends no farther 
than this world. The concern is for the body. 
All this mighty bustle, this laborious service, is for 
a trifle, a bubble, a nothing ; while the improve- 
ment of the mind, the care of the soul, the favour 
of God, are treated with contempt, or absolutely 
forgotten ! ! ! 

Thanks be to thy name, however, O Father of 
Mercies, that while with sorrow we view the de- 
generacy of man, yet we can rejoice that there are 
some whom thou hast formed for thyself, and 
who shall shew forth thy praise ; who while 
many are going about, and saying, Who will shew 
us any good ? are imploring thy favour, choosing 
the one thing needful, and with willing feet are 
running the way of thy commandments. These 
are the characters who value the health of the 
mind, who place not their happiness in sensual 
gratifications, who are truly wise, and shall finally 
receive that crown of glory which aw^aits the right' 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. Hi 

teous. Yes, " These shall walk, O Lord, in the 
light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they 
rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall 
they be exalted. These shall flourish like the palm 
tree ; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 
They shall bring forth fruit in old age. They 
shall come to the grave in a full age, like as a 
shock of corn cometh in his season. Yes, these 
shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
Father. These shall be forever with the Lord." 
Ps. Ixxxix. 16. xcii. 10, 11. Job v. 26. Matt, 
xiii. 43. 1 Thess. iv. 17. 

Let us now proceed to consider more particu- 
larly the happy experience of a christian, or what 
may be considered as evidencing prosperity of 
soul. 

And, first, we may observe, that it is attended 
with increasing knowledge. It is the divine com- 
mand, " Grow in grace, and in the knowledge 
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." It is the 
divine promise, " that the righteous sh^ll go forth, 
and grow up as calves of the stall ;" and it is a 
portrait drawn by the divine hand, " that the path 
of the just is as the shining light, that shineth 
more and more unto the perfect day." 2 Pet. iii. 
18. Mai. iv. 2. Prov. iv. 18 From all these 
passages it is evident that the knowledge of a 
christian is not stationary : it is progressive. He 
is daily adding to his stock. The sun of truth 
rises with increasing radiance on his mind, and, 
as his knowledge is of the best kind, it cannot fail 
to be productive of the best feelings. It is true, 
he sees more of his own ignorance, but it leads 



f 



112 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

him to appreciate tliat light which alone can direct 
to eternal fehcity. The nearer he approaches to 
the fountain of intelligence, the more he is hum- 
bled under a sense of his own contracted powers. 
This, however, is no barrier to his progress ; it 
rather stimulates him to be more diligent. He 
does not sit down in indolent carelessness, and say, 
<^ I cannot know all ; objects are too vast for ^ly 
comprehension. The wisest, after all, must 
remain ignorant, I shall give up the pursuit, and 
be content with what I have." No ; the infinite 
loveliness of the divine mind appears so delightful 
and glorious to him, that he desires to know more. 
The perfections of Jehovah, though they fill him 
with awe, yet engage his attention, and excite his 
study. The glories of the Saviour are continually 
unfolding to his view. With delight he contemplates 
the attributes he possesses, the offices he sustains, 
the relations he bears, and the promises he has 
made. Here he always finds something new, 
something wonderful, something beautiful. Like 
the angels, he is employed " in looking into these 
things," but with a pleasure superior to theirs, as 
he is more interested than they. O what joy does 
he feel in an increasing acquaintance with the 
Saviour's love ! He sits down under his shadow 
with great delight, while he exclaims, " Thou 
art fairer than the children of men, the altogether 
lovely. Who would not fear, who would not love 
thee ? Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there 
is none on earth I desire beside thee. Thou art 
the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." 
Vs. xlv. 2. lxxiii.25. 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 113 

As the understanding of the christian becomes 
more and more enlightened, he discerns more of 
the excellency and feels more of the energy of the 
sacred scriptures. The Bible contains not only 
milk for babes, but strong meat for them that are 
full of age, even those who, by reason of use, 
have their senses exercised to discern both good 
and evil. The christian is constantly increasing 
in his knowledge of these divine truths, and per- 
haps nothing can exceed the pleasure he feels in a 
growing discovery of the harmony, the unity, the 
simplicity, the meaning of the word of God. At 
first, perhaps, he received the Bible as divinely 
inspired, merely upon the assertion of others, or 
because it was the book received among the com- 
munity with whom he was brought up ; but now, 
having examined it for himself, he is fully convinc- 
ed that the marks of divinity are upon it. For- 
merly there were many parts, which, at a distance, 
appeared like so many barren spots, but on a nearer 
approach, he has found fruitful and pleasant. The 
older he grows, and the more experience he has, 
the more he sees that this is the only sure guide. 
He finds himself cautioned by its warnings, en- 
couraged by its promises, established by its doc- 
trines, directed by its precepts, animated by its 
examples, and consoled by its prospects. He 
finds himself amply repaid in the contemplation 
of its various contents. Its richness, its simplici- 
ty, its purity, its effect, render it an invaluable 
treasure in his estimatijn. *' I rejoice in thy 
word," said David, " as one that findeth great spoil. 
The entrance thereof giveth light. The law of 
L 



114 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of 
gold and silver.'* Ps. cxix. \62. no. 72. 

Again ; strong faith is another part of the chris- 
tian's happy experience. He is enabled to give 
credit to God's word, to believe in his promises, 
to submit to his providences, and refer all his con- 
cerns into his hand. " I know that my Redeemer 
liveth," said Job. David says, " The Lord is my 
light and my salvation ; whom shall I fear ? he 
is the strength of my heart ; of whom shall I be 
afraid ?" " Although," says Habakkuk, " the fig 
tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the 
vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the field 
shall yield no meat, the flocks shall be cut off 
from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the 
stalls, yet will I rejoice in the Lord ; I will joy in 
the God of my salvation." " I am persuaded," 
says the apostle Paul, " that neither death, nor 
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, 
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to 
separate us from the love of God, which is in 
Christ Jesus our Lord." Job xix. 26. Ps. xxvii. 1. 
Hab. iii. 17, 18. Rom. viii. 38, 39. Such are the 
noble declarations and delightful effects of faith I 
With what pleasure can the christian look up to 
the Sovereign of the Universe, believing him to 
work all things according to the council of his own 
will ! They see his wise hand in all the events of 
time ; they know he leads them by a right way. 
"Without presuming, they can read their names in 
the book of life. They have the witness within 
themselves that ihey are born of God. In times of 
outward calamity they can repose confidence in a 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 115 

faithful God. What pleasing instances have we of 
this ! Time would fail us to mention a Moses, a 
Noah, an Abraham, a Joseph, a Daniel, a Paul, 
with a number of others, who faced danger with- 
out fear, encountered difficulties without murmur- 
ing, endured hardships with fortitude, and bore 
opposition with patience. Nor let it be supposed 
that these feelings were peculiar to extraordinary 
men, such as patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. 
Christians in general, when in a state of sotil pros- 
perity, can commit all into the hands of their Sov- 
ereign Lord. They know in whom they believe, 
and that he will supply their wants, and be with 
them to the end. When Mr. Dod, in the time of 
the wars, was plundered of all he had in his house, 
his wife was in great distress about it ; " Wife 1'* 
says he, *' be not troubled ; I have a bond yet to 
live upon.'' " What bond ?" says she. *' Why, 
this bond,'' said he, " in the Hebrevvs ; ' I will 
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.' Come, let us 
put this bond into suit ; let us go to prayer." 
The next morning the neighbours sent him in 
more than he had lost. " I am filled with the 
grace of God," said the pious Rivet, in his last ill- 
ness : " I fear no more the inconveniencies of 
temporal life ; the Spirit of God strengthens me, 
and affords me abundant consolations. 1 have no 
doubt of my salvation. He hath set me on high. 
He hath hid me in his hiding place. I am like a 
vessel filled with pure v/ater, which no agitation 
troubles." 

Sincere and strong affection to God enters into 
the christian's happy experience. His mind not 
only perceives the excellency of the divine char- 



116 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

acter, and the beauty of holiness, but his heart is 
powerfully drawn to God as the best of beings. 
He feels ardent affection to him, and longs to en- 
joy more of him. With what delight he exclaims, 
" O Thou, whom unseen I love, by what pow- 
erful influence dost thou attract my soul ! The eye 
has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor has it entered 
into the heart of man to conceive, what thou art ; 
and yet I love thee beyond all that mine eye hath 
seen ; or my ear heard ; beyond all that ray 
heart can comprehend. Thou dwellest in heights 
of glory, to which no human thought can soar ; 
and yet thou art nearer and more intimate to my 
soul than any of the o!:jccts of sense. These ears 
have never heard thy voice, and yet I am better 
acquainted with thee, and can rely on thee with 
more confidence than on the dearest friend I have 
on earth. My heart cleaves to thee, O Lord, as its 
only refuge, and finds in thee a secret and constant 
spring of consolation. I speak to thee v/ith the ut- 
most confidence, and think thy being my greatest 
happiness. I love thee. Thus far I can speak, 
but all the rest is unutterable, and I must leave 
the pleasing tale untold till I can talk in the lan- 
guage of immortality ; and then Til begin the 
transporting story, which shall never come to an 
end, but be still and still beginning ; for thy beau- 
ties, O thou fairest of ten thousand, will still be 
new, and shall kindle fresh ardour in my soul to 
all eternity ! The sacred flame shall rise, nor find 
any limits till thy perfections find a period. I 
love tl^.ee ; and, O thou that knowest all things, 
read the characters that love has drawn on my 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. IIT 

heart : what excellence but thine in heaven and 
earth could raise such aspirations of soul, such 
sublime and fervent affections as those I feel ? 
What could fix my spirit but boundless perfection I 
What is there else for whose sake I could despise 
all created glory ? Ye flowery vanities of the earth, 
and you sparkling glories of the skies, your blan- 
dishments are vain, while I pursue an excellence 
that casts a reproach on all your glory. I would 
fain close my eyes on all the various and lovely 
appearances you present, and would open them on 
a brighter scene. I have desires which nothing 
visible can gratify, to which no material things are 
suitable. O v/hen shall I find objects more en- 
tirely agreeable to my intellectual faculties I My 
soul springs forw^ard in pursuit of a distant good, 
which I followed by some faint ray of light, which 
only glimmers by short intervals before me. O 
when will it disperse the clouds, and break out iri 
full splendour on my soul I" See Mrs. Rowe's De- 
vout Exercises. 

Notwithstanding the christian considers all here 
as vanity and vexation of spirit, and longs for the 
presence of God in a future state, yet it must not 
be concluded that he is destitute of holy joy^ 
Nothing is more common than to hear the world 
inveigh against religious characters, as persons 
who are of a melancholy cast, unfit for society, and 
strangers to happiness. If by happiness they mean 
that which the world only affords, the mere grat- 
ification of the appetite, the frivolous pleasures of 
time and sense, we grant they are not happy m 
their sense of the word. For they seek not felid* 
L 2 



lis HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

ty in these objects ; they are taught to set their 
affections on things above, and not on things on 
the earth. Their state is spiritual, their judgment 
of things enlightened, their affections placed on 
nobler objects than what this world can produce. 
They have, it is true, their moments of depression, 
their seasons of distress, and, alike with others, are 
exposed to the common calamities of human life. 
But although w^eeping may endure for a night, yet 
joy cometh in the morning. Unto the upright 
there ariseth light in darkness. They that sow in 
tears shall reap in joy. If there be any truth in 
the declarations of holy men, in the testimony of 
experience, and the decisions of sacred writ, the 
righteous are of all men the most happy. " I will 
greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joy- 
ful in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the 
garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the 
robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh 
himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth 
herself with her jewels." Is. Ixi. 10. "Whom 
having not seen, ye love ; whom, though now ye 
see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy un- 
speakable and lull of glory." 1 Pet. i. 8. The ways 
of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and ail the 
paths thereof are peace. Prov. iii. IT. Indeed, 
what can be more reasonable than to suppose this ? 
My God, if there be not happiness in communion 
with thee, in the enjoyment of thy presence, in 
the prospect of beholding thy glory forever in a 
better state, where can happiness be found in the 
universe ? If he be not happy whose sins are par* 
doned, whose conscience is purified^ w^hose feet 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 119 

are directed in the way to heaven, who then can 
be happy ? If he be not happy whose nature is 
renovated, whose rebellious passions are subdued, 
whose heart is attached to the truth, who then is ? 
If he be not happy whose mind is enlightened, 
whose will is inclined to good, whose soul is 
taken up in the contemplation of the divine glo- 
ries, who then is ? If he be not happy who has the 
Bible for his rule, the Holy Spirit for his guide, 
angels and ministers for his attendants, saints for 
his companions, heaven for his end, and God him- 
self for his portion ; ah 1 if such be not happy, 
then there is no happiness 1 It is only a name ; 
and the whole universe is destined to perpetual 
wo and misery. But the christian does experi- 
ence a joy, and that of the purest, of the sublim- 
est, of the noblest kind. " His soul dwells at ease. 
The peace of God, which passeth all understand- 
ing, keepeth his heart and mind. He glones even 
in tribulation, and rejoices in hope of the glory of 
God." Ps. XXV. 13. Phil. iv. 6. Rom. v. 3. The 
world may reproach, troubles may assail, enemies 
may oppose, a thousand difficulties may arise ; 
but when the soul prospers, all is well. For thine 
it is, O adorable Emmanuel, to keep the feet of thy 
saints ; thine to support them m the trying 
hour; thine to inspire them with holy joy ; and 
thine, at last, to crown with eternal glory. 

We have before observed, that the soul may be 
in health without always experiencing transfwrts of 
joy, and that the christian, though he may be hap- 
py, yet is not in the present state to expect con- 
tinual ecstacies. There have been some instan- 



120 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

ces, however, of extraordinary experience and 
singular manifestations, which, as some would 
think complete enthusiasm to believe ; so I think, 
on the other hand, it would be incredulity to deny. 
I am no advocate for visions, revelations, and sin- 
gular impulses [see chapter on Advice respecting 
Experience] ; yet there have been, and may be, 
instances of sublime consolation, which, upon the 
most rational survey of things according to scrip- 
ture, may be considered as divine. " It would 
take up many whole pages," says Dr. Watts, "to 
cite such instances as we find upon record in the 
lives of particular persons. Many such may be 
found in Mr. Fleming's fulfilling of the scripture. 
Even in our day, we have the example of a person 
whose solid sense, whose deep sagacity, whose se- 
date judgment, and the superior excellence of his 
reasoning powers, leave no room to charge him 
with vain and delusive raptures of a heated imagi- 
nation. The name is the venerable Mr. John 
Howe. The name commands respect, and confirms 
the narrative. He wrote the following paragraphs 
in the blank leaf of his own Bible. 

"December 26, 1689. After that I had long 
seriously and repeatedly thought with myself, that^ 
besides a full and undoubted assent to the objects of 
faith, a vivifying savoury taste and relish of them 
was also necessary, that with stronger force> and 
more powerful energy, they might penetrate into 
the most inward centre of my heart, and there, be- 
ing most deeply fixed and rooted, govern my life ; 
and xivcX ti»ere could be no other sure ground where- 
on to conclude and pass a sound judgment on my 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 121 

good estate outward, and after I had in my course 
of preaching been largely insisting on 2 Cor. i. 12, 
' This is my rejoicing, the testimony of a good 
conscience,' &c. this very morning I awoke out of 
a most ravishing and delightful dream, that a 
wonderful and copious stream of celestial rays 
from the lofty throne of the Divine Majesty did 
seem to dart into my open and expanded breast. I 
have often since, with great complacency, reflected 
on that very signal pledge of special divine favour 
vouchsafed to me on that noted memorable day, 
and have with repeated fresh pleasure tasted the 
delights thereof. 

" But vvhat of the same kind I sensibly felt 
through the admirable bounty of my God, and the 
most pleasant comforting influence of the Holy 
Spirit on Oct. 2 2, 1704, far surpassed the most ex- 
pressive words my thoughts can suggest. I then 
experienced an inexpressibly pleasant melting of 
heart, tears gushing out of mine eyes for joy, that 
God should shed abroad his love abundantly through 
the hearts of men, and that for this very purpose 
mine own heart should be so signally possessed of 
and by his blessed Spirit." 

Of Mr. Flavel it is said, " That in a journey on 
horseback he fell into a divine meditation, wherein 
he had such tokens of the love of God, and his in- 
terest in the divine favour manifested to him, that 
greatly surpassed all the rational and inferential ev- 
idences that ever he had, though he was known to 
be a close walker with God, an eminent saint, and 
a lively preacher of the blessed gospel of Christ." 

These instances are not mentioned to discourage 
*hose whose joys do not run so high, but to shew 



122 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

that God in his infinite goodness is pleased some- 
times to favour his people, even while here, with 
remarkable manifestations of his glory. They who 
have them must consider themselves as highly 
privileged ; and they who have them not, however, 
must not despair, since the Lord acts as a sovereign 
in the dispensation of his favour, and, after all, it is 
his grace, and not his consolations, that saves us. 
But we proceed, in the next place, to observe, 
that deep humility and meekness of spirit peculiarly 
characterise the prosperous christian. Prosperity 
of soul consists in living near to God ; and living 
near to God will always produce humility. In pro- 
portion as we approach the Divine Majesty, the 
more we shall be confounded and overwhelmed 
with the radiant beams of his glory. Who is it that 
boasts, that thinks much of himself, that is per- 
petually talking of his own merit and abilities ? 
Surely it is not the prosperous christian : it must 
be the man who knows little of himself, who lives 
at a distance from the Fountain of light and per- 
fection. The discoveries which the gospel makes 
of the glorious attributes of the Creator, and the 
discoveries which grace makes of the imperfections 
and depravity of the creature, cause the christian to 
lie low in his own esteem, and to think highly of 
his God. Thus Isaiah, after a view he had of the 
divine glory, exclaims, " Vio is me, for I am un- 
done, because I am a man of unclean lips ; and 
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; 
for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of 
Hosts." Thus the apostle, notwithstanding all his 
superior attainments, calls himself, '' the least of 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 123 

all saints :" so John, when he beheld the glory of 
his Redeemer, was so overpowered, that he fell at 
his feet as dead. We may consider humility as 
one of the first and one of the surest evidences of 
the health of the mind. And it is this which, 
" though the most lowly, is the most lovely of the 
christian graces, and throws an amiable lustre on 
all the rest. It is in the christian life the same as 
the well-disposed shades in a picture, which set it 
off to advantage ; for though the shades are not 
striking in themselves, yet they give an inex- 
pressible beauty to the whole piece."* How 
pleasant is it to see the christian hi this spirit ! 
While the proud are racked with envy and 
jealousy, pushed on by ambition and vanity, so as 
to become restless and wretched, the humble chris- 
tian walks on quietly and contentedly. The pro- 
vocations of men do not ruffle him ; the reproach- 
es of the world do not depress him. The happy 
spirit he possesses teaches him to think lowly of 
himself; to bear with injuries, to forgive unkind- 
ness. If he hears that any one has reviled him, he 
is ready to say with the philosopher, '' Had he 
known me better, he would have said worse things 
of me than that.*' The opinion of the world, 
popular applause, and honours which fade away, 
are not sought for by him. And as he aims not 
at these objects, so he meets not with those vexa- 
tions which generally disturb the minds of those 
who are anxiously pursuing them. He considers 
himself more secure in the valley than on the 
mountain ; as the weakest plant is preserved ia 

* Mason. 



124 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

the one, while the loftiest tree is often torn to 
pieces by the tempest on the other. It must not 
be, however, understood that the christian is of a 
weak and pusillanimous mind ; that his views of 
himself and of things destroy his peace, and prevent 
his rejoicing. We grant that there may some- 
times be an extreme even in this, and that the en- 
emy may take an advantage to confine our atten- 
tion so to our un worthiness, as almost to prevent 
our application to Christ as the Saviour, But true 
genuine humility is of a calm, peaceful, happy na- 
ture. Yea, if happiness is to be found any wiiere, 
it is in that breast' where humility reigns. It is 
the grand key to contentment ; and a man can on- 
ly be at rest as he is humble. To such a charac- 
ter afflictions are met without repining, and borne 
without impatience. Duties are not thought hard, 
nor crosses unnecessary. Candour, meekness, 
forbearance, patience, kindness, are the lovely train 
that attend the abodes of humility, while they 
adorn and bless its happy subject. 

Farther ; the prosperous christian enjoys fre- 
quent communion with his God. " Truly," says 
St. John, '^ our fellowship is with the Father, and 
with his Son Jesus Christ." " God is faithful," 
says St. Paul, " by whom ye were called to the fel- 
lowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Jo. 
i. 3 1 Cor. i. 9. What happy moments does 
he spend in the enjoyment of the divine presence I 
How delightfuiiy he contemplates the attributes, 
the works, the providences, the promises of the 
Almighty ! At the throne of grar.e, in reading the 
sacred oracles, in hearing the glorious gospel, in 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 12o 

singing divine praises, and sitting down at his 
Master's table, what happy communion does he en- 
joy ! In contemplating the works of creation, the 
dispensations of Providence, and the displays of 
mercy and grace, his heart is drawn away from the 
world, and lifted up to heaven. With David he 
can say, " Thou hast put gladness in my heart, 
more than in the time that their corn and wine in- 
creased. He finds that in the light of his heavenly 
King's countenance there is life, and that his fa- 
vour is as the cloud of the latter rain." Ps. iv. 6, 
Prov. xvi. 15. None know, but those who have 
experienced it, what sublime joys, what divine tran- 
quillity, flow into the soul when thus communing 
with God. Here it is that the christian forgets 
all the toils, the cares, the troubles of the way. 
Here that his mind is absorbed in delightful con- 
templations of the wonders of redeeming love. 
Here that he reads his name in the book of life, 
and rejoices in God as his portion. Here that he 
shakes the dust from his feet, catches the celestial 
fire that warms his heart, and expands all the pow- 
ers of his soul. Here that he looks forward, and 
anticipates with the highest pleasure the crown, 
the immortality, the glory, the joys which are to 
come. It is true, he finds himself in a world where 
objects touch him on every side, and where a thous- 
and things stand ready to draw off his mind, and 
thus interrupt his pleasures. But he is anxious 
every day to keep up this communion with God, 
and to make every event, whether prosperous or 
adverse, subservient to it. " O that I may set the 
Lord before me continually 1 Thou hast been the 
M 



t 

1^6 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

kind guardian of my life ; should I not, then, de- 
vote myself to thee ? should I not commit myself 
to thy care ? I know not what a day may bring 
forth ; but this I know, that all events are in thy 
hand, and that thou canst not do wrong. Afford 
me the light of thy countenance, and all shall be 
well. Then welcome crosses, disappointments, 
and trials. I can bear all things when thou art 
with me. If thou art my light, no darkness can 
surround me. If thou art my strength, no trouble 
can depress me. If thou art my salvation, no ene- 
my can conquer me." Even in the concerns of 
a family, or the cares of business, he still walks 
with him, constantly imploring that wisdom which 
is profitable to direct ; that meekness that shall 
bear opposition without being ruffled ; that forti- 
tude that shall meet difficulties without being dis- 
mayed ; and in every thing, that spirit which is 
suitable to the christian character, and which shall 
favour his fellowship with God. 

Another thing that enters into the happy expe- 
rience of a christian, is submission to the will of 
God. " I was dumb," said the psalmist, and 
" opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." 
Aaron under a severe trial, it is said, held his 
peace. Job stands upon the ruins of temporal 
prosperity, and exclaims, " The Lord gave, and 
the Lord hath taken away : blessed be the name 
of the Lord." The consideration of the sover- 
eignty, the wisdom, the love, the covenant, the 
promises, and the conduct of his God, enables him 
to bear with patience, while the Holy Spirit power- 
fully strengthens and supports his mind, by bring- 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 127 

ing it to depend less on the creature, and more on 
the Creator. " I see God will have all my heart, 
and he shall have it," was a fine reflection made by 
a lady, v^iien news was brought that two of her 
children were drowned. And how resigned was 
the mind of that christian femde, who, being sick, 
was asked, whether she was willing to live or die, 
answered, " Which God pleases !" " But," said 
one? "^ if God refer it to you, which would you 
choose ?" " Truly," replied she, " I would refer 
it to him again." What are trials to that man who 
knows and believes that all are under the direction 
of a wise hand ? What are losses to him who places 
his happiness in the chief good ? What are be- 
reavements to him who believes that God can be 
better to him than millions of creatures ? What is 
opposition to him, who knows that He to whom all 
power belongs can in a moment frustrate the wisest 
schemes, break to pieces the most formidable 
weapons, or scatter a ttiousand foes by a sudden turn 
of his providence ? O what are all the afflictions of 
life, or even death itself, to him, who neither covets 
the one nor fears the other, but with a noble tri- 
umph can say, " For me to live is Christ, and to 
die is gain !" 

Indeed, if it were only the benefit he has derived 
from past afflictions, I say, if it were only this, he 
finds an argument even here for submission to 
the divine will. What is the language of experi- 
enced christians ? " How good is it," says one, 
" for me to be afflicted ; for before I was afflicted, 
I went astray, but now have 1 kept thy word." << I 
was at ease," says another ; " I Mated on my 



128 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

children, they becanie my idols ; but I saw them 
unexpectedly snatched away, and now have I learn- 
ed how necessary it is that God only should be my 
portion." " The wheel of business," says a third, 
^' ran round so rapidly, that nothing else engaged 
my attention ; but suddenly it stopped ; mortified 
and dispirited, I retired : I flew to the Bible, and 
there I read, ' Set your affections on things above, 
and not on things on the earth/ At once the 
passage was explained, and my own conduct be- 
came the best expositor." '' Fain," says a fourth, 
" would I have gone through yonder flowery fields, 
where the refreshing stream delightfully glides 
along, and where the prospects seem so charming 
and pleasant. But no, says Providence : you must 
tread a different path ; a path where, to all appear- 
ance, nothing but barrenness, briars, and thorns 
could be seen. Here," says the christian, '' as I 
advanced, behold the crooked was made straight, the 
rough places plain, and the wilderness became a 
fruitful land ; while, looking with more discern- 
ment on yonder field of pleasure, there I saw that, 
though thousands entered with such willing feet 
and happy countenances, yet, behold, the end was 
indolence and wretchedness, poverty and death. 
Thus," says the christian, *' would I no more de- 
sire my own will, but be resigned to Him who 
knows what is best for his creatures ; and who, 
though he leads theni not in a path of their own 
choosing, yet conducts them in a right way. 

" My times of sorrow and of joy. 

Great God, are in thy hand ; 
My choicest comforts came from thee, 

And go at thy command. 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 129 

If thou sliouldst take thcra all away. 

Yet would I not repine : 
Before they were possessed by me. 

They were entirely thine. 

Nor would I drop a murm'ring word, 
Tho' the whole world were gone ; 

But seek enduring happiness 
In Thee, and Thee alone f" 

Another thing which characterises the prosper- 
ous christian is ardent zeal. Grace is operative, 
and in proportion as we are influenced by it, we 
shall be active. A cold frozen-hearted christian is 
a contradiction of terms. To be a christian is ta 
be like Christ, who was full of holy zeal and heav- 
enly ardour. A gracious mind perceives the im« 
portance of truth, values immortal souls, and is con- 
cerned for their welfare, and the promotion of the 
divine glory in the world. What is it but his zeal 
that causes him to lament with David, and say^ 
'^ Rivers of waters rim down mine eyes, because 
men keep not thy law ?" Ps. cxix. 136> What 
but his zeal that makes him even ashamed of him- 
self, that so many years have been past, and so lit* 
tie, comparatively, done for God l What but zeal 
that makes him sorrowful at the thought of so 
many being at ease in Zion, who have a name ta 
live, and yet are dead ? What but zeal that makes 
bim lament when deprived of divine ordinances^ 
and to say with David, *' Surely I will not come 
into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into 
my bed ; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, oir 
slumber to my eyelids, until I find out a place for 
Uie Lord, an habitation for the mighty God V^ Ps* 
M 2- 



130 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

cxxxii. 3, &c. What but zeal that bears him up 
with fortitude against opposition, and stimulates 
him, in the midst of all, to devise and execute be- 
nevolent plans for the happiness of miserable sin- 
ners ? " What shall I do," says the christian, 
V' that shall best subserve the interests of my fel- 
low mortals ? I feel the obligations I am under to 
the God of my salvation. How much has he done 
for me ! and now what shall I do for him ? O how 
shall I set forth his glory, and speak of his good- 
ness to the children of men ! Father of Spirits, 
thou from whom all life, light, and energy pro- 
ceed, enable me to be an active instrument in the 
promotion of thy glory. How short is life, how 
precious are souls, how awful is eternity 1 Alas ! 
how many are perishing for lack of knowledge, 
even in the circle in which I move 1 O that my 
temper, my conversation, my influence, my con- 
duct, may be so under thy blessing, as to become 
the means of doing good ! Shall the merchant 
compass sea and land for wealth ? shall the astron- 
omer gaze with rapturous ardour on a ne^-discov- 
ered planet ? shall the philosopher spend days and 
nights in the pursuit of a favourite theme ? shall 
the tradesman labour and toil, and expose himself 
to continual inconveniences for the things that are 
passing away ? And, what ! shall I sit still, and 
dream my life away ? Shall all creation be in mo- 
tion ? shall the world exhibit nothing but bustle 
and activity ? and shall I indulge myself in indo- 
lent repose ? I, who have eternity in view, who 
have turned my back on the world, who believe 
the awful realities of heaven and hell ? O let my 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 131 

whole time be employed in some useful service, 
that I may be always abounding in the work of the 
Lord, knowing that my labour cannot be in vain in 
the Lord !" Thus the christian, like Caleb, is of a 
different spirit from the world, and follows the 
Lord fully ; like Phineas, is zealous for the Lord 
of Hosts, and with Paul can say, that " it is good 
to be zealously affected always in a good thing." 
Numb. xiv. 24. Gal. iv. 18. 

Grateful recollection forms another part of the 
christian's happy experience. He considers with 
thankfulness and pleasure the mercies he has re- 
ceived, the dangers from which he has been saved, 
the troubles out of which he has been delivered, 
and the various crosses that have been turned into 
comforts ; yea, he looks back, even to the house 
of mourning, and remembers well how the cham- 
ber of sickness became the place of instruction, 
the time of bereavement a season of usefulness, 
and difficulties in circumstances the means of de- 
pendance. From opposition he has gained cour- 
age ; from difficulty he has derived faith ; from 
the vanity of the creature he has been led to see 
the fulness of the Creator. From a sense of weak- 
ness he has increased in strength ; and from the 
valley of trouble he has gathered the sweet fruit of 
humility, patience, and submission to the divine 
will. Think, too, reader, how happy the christian 
must be, when not a day passes but his mind is led 
to reflect on the goodness of his God. Every 
morning and night brings fresh matter to feed his 
gratitude. Hear his language ! " Have I had a 
good night ; and have I not an errand to the throne 



^32 HAPPY EXPERIENCE, 

of grace to return thanks for it ? How many mer* 
cies have concurred to make it a good night ? 
Distinguished mercies ; mercies, perhaps, granted 
to me, but not to others ! Many have not where to 
lay their heads ; my Master himself had not ; but 
I have a house to dwell in, a quiet and peaceable 
habitation. I have a bed to lay on, and have not to 
wander in deserts and mountains, in dens and 
caves of the earth, as some of the best of God's 
saints have been forced to do, of whom the world 
was not worthy. Many have beds to lie on, yet 
dare not or cannot lay down in them, being kept 
up either by the sickness of their friends, or the 
fear of their enemies. But I have laid me down, 
and there have been none to make me afraid ; no 
alarms of the sword, either of war or persecution. 
Many lay them down, and cannot sleep, but are 
full of tossings to and fro, until the dawning of the 
day, through pain of body or anguish of mind. 
Wearisome nights are appointed to them, and 
their eyes are held waking ; but I have laid down, 
and slept without any disturbance, and my sleep 
was sweet and refreshing, the pleasant parenthesis 
of my care and toils. Many lay them down and 
sleep, and never rise again ; they sleep the sleep 
of death, and their beds are their graves ; but 1 have 
slept and awaked again, have rested,, and am re- 
freshed, because the Lord hath sustained me." 

'^ Have I," says the christian, ^' a pleasant 
morning ? Is the light sweet ? The light of the 
sun, the light of the eyes ; do these rejoice the 
heurt ? And ought I not to own my obligations to 
Him who opens my eyes, and opens the eyelids of 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 133 

the morning upon me ? Have I clothes to put on ? 
change of raiment, not for necessity only, but also 
for ornament ? I have them from God : it is his 
wool and flax that are given to cover me ; and shall 
I not praise him for it ? Am I in health and ease ? 
Have I been long so ? O how thankful ought I to 
be !^'* 

When the evening approaches, he looks back 
through the day, and calls to mind the manifold 
instances of divine kindness. How many evils 
have befallen the sons of men this day 1 Some have 
been labouring under racking pains of body, others 
left to all the rage of despair. Some unexpectedly 
bereaved of their choicest comforts, others exposed 
to accidents of the most alarming kind. Many, 
perhaps, have lost all they had by some unforeseen 
event ; and multitudes been tossed about on the 
troubled waves of human adversity. Some, per- 
hapSj have had their reputation blasted by a malig- 
nant foe ; others been unjustly deprived of the in- 
heritance they had long expected. How many 
who have been stripped of their friends by remov- 
als or by deaths i and how many who are suffering 
from their friends becoming enemies, and those 
who were near to them, by ties of nature, no long- 
er allied to them by the bonds of affection ! Ah, my 
God I how many may be the evils of one day I 
But here I am signalized by thy favour, and though 
not without my trials, yet how thankful should I 
feel for an exemption from these troubles ! The 
pleasures of health, of friendship, of liberty, of 

* See Henry on Communion vith God. 



134 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

peace, of character, of property, have been continu- 
ed, and much more of communion with thee. 
" What shall I render unto the Lord for all the 
benefits he hath bestowed upon me ? Bless the 
Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless 
his holy name : for he hath crowned my life with 
loving kindness and tender mercies. Bless the 
Lord, O my soul !" 

Again ; a constant and ardent breathing after 
holiness distinguishes the prosperous christian. 
No attainments he has made, no good works he 
has performed, ever satisfy him. He never ar- 
rives at a point where he can sit down, and say, I 
have enough, I want no more, I am at rest. I feel 
complacency in what 1 have done. I can go 
no farther. I can make no higher progress* 
in knowledge or holiness. On the contrary 
the nearer he approaches to God, the more 
he sees of his own imperfection, the more 
he discerns of the beauties of holiness, and the 
more he desires to be conformed to him. " O 
that my thoughts," says the christian, ''may 
always be directed in a right channel, my affec- 
tions wholly placed on the chief good, my powers 
all employed in his service, and for the promotion 
of his glory ! Thou, O God, art the best of Be- 
ings ; infinitely lovely in thyself; the fountain of 
all excellency. I want to be more like thee ; my 
temper, my conversation, my conduct, my exer- 
tions, my all, to reflect the splendour of thy grace. 
How hateful is sin to me ! how it defiles tl>e soul, 
darkens the mind, and exposes to the most ex- 
treme wretchedness ! O purify my heart, subdue 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 135 

ail the corruptions of my nature, keep under thy 
subjection all the passions of my soul ! Whatever 
befalls me, let me not sin against thee ; but give 
me grace that T may persevere, perfect ing holiness 
in thy sight. Order my steps in thy word, and let 
not any iniquity have dominion over me. Search 
me, O God, and know my heart ; try me, and 
know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked 
way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 
Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back 
thy servant, also, from presumptuous sins ; let 
them not have dominion over me. Let the words 
of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be 
acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and 
Redeemer!" Ps. cxix. 133. cxxxix. 2, last. xix. 
11, 125^14. 

A 

Thus the christian wishes to run the race that is 
set before him, and to lay aside every weight. He 
knows God is the chief good, the author of all ho- 
liness and happiness ; and though he is certain he 
is not to be justified or accepted on account of his 
desires, his merit, his works, but solely by the 
grace of Christ, yet his soul burns with holy ar- 
dour to be conformed to him, to see more of his 
glories, to taste more of his love, to enjoy more 
of his presence, and live more to his praise. 
" Doubtless," saith the apostle, " I count all 
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge 
of Christ — and that I may be found in him — that I 
may know him, and the power of his resurrection, 
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made 
conformable unto his death. If by any means I 
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead : 



136 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

not as though I had already attained, either were 
ah^eady perfect, but I follow afterj if that I may ap- 
prehend that for which also I am apprehended of 
Christ Jesus. I count not myself to have appre- 
hended ; but this one thing I do, forgetting those 
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto 
those things w^hich are before, I press towards 
the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God 
in Christ Jesus." Phil. iii. 8, &c. 

Lastly ; anticipation of a future state of blessed- 
ness enters much into the experience of the pros- 
perous christian. How pleasant to him to reflect 
that he shall soon have done with all the troubles 
and discouragements of the way ! Here, it is true, 
the animal frame is subject to pain ; trials disturb, 
enemies oppose, darkness surrounds, and difficul- 
ties perplex ; but there the weary shall be forever 
at rest. It is this that often supports him under 
the inconveniences of the way and the troubles to 
which he is here exposed. '' Soon," says he, 
'' shall I have done with all these ; and I reckon 
that the sufferings of the present time are not 
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be 
revealed. Rom. viii. 17. What is the cross, 
compared to the crown ; the darkness here, to 
the everlasting light hereafter ; the contempt and 
indignity of men, to the favour of God ; the sor- 
rows of this life, to the joys of heaven ; the evils 
of time, to the glories of eternity ? And I am 
passing on ; every moment brings me nearc^r. 
Heaven, glory, God, immortality, are opening to 
my view. O how transporting to think tiiat I 
shall be for evo^ with the Lord ! ever to admire 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 137 

his perfections ; eoer to adore his designs ; ever 
to contemplate the wisdom of his providence, and 
the works of his hands ; ever to celebrate his 
goodness ; ever^ with the celestiarl multitude, to 
surround his throne, and ascribe everlasting hon- 
ours to his name ! There sweet harmony, glorious 
. liberty, pure affection, happy union, pleasing recol- 
lection, divine intercourse, and sublime pleasure, 
' shall eternally subsist. O happy period, wlien the 
shackles of mortality shall be broken, when the 
earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, 
and my soul transported to these blissful realms ! 
Adorable Redeemer ! when shall 1 av/ake up after 
thy likeness ; when wilt thou speak the word, and 
say. Soul, come up hither ? Patiently would I wait 
all the days of my appointed time, till my change 
come ; but, O the day, the happy day, when the 
last enemy shall receive the commission to do his 
work, and I shall be freed from the scenes of mor- 
tality to dwell with thee ! Let me cherish the 
thought. Let the world and all its cares sink in 
my estimation, and let eternity, joyful eternity, be 
before my view ; for I know in whom I have be- 
lieved, and am persuaded that he will keep that 
which I have committed to him." Thus the 
christian meditates ; and with what propriety he 
may indulge himself in the pleasing employ, we 
may easily conclude, when v/e consider the beauti- 
ful descriptions and happy promises given in 
the sacred records of his final happiness, " Be- 
loved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not 
yet appear M-hat we shall be ; but we know that 
when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we 
N 



138 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

shall see him as he is." The apostle says, that 
" We, who have believed, do enter into rest." If, 
after all, then, our present view is only but as an 
entrance^ what will the full possession be ! To 
stand at the door, or to have an entrance only to a 
superb and beautiful mansion, fills the mind with 
wonder; but to enter in, fully to survey every object, 
to inspect every beauty, and see the excellencies 
of the whole, how great the privilege I Thus here 
we have an entrance ; and if even this fills with 
admiration, what will it be to take complete pos- 
session, and behold the infinite glories of that house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ! 
This unspeakable blessing we may anticipate. 
*'' Father, I will," says the Saviour, " that they 
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, 
that they may behold my glory. They shall come 
from the east and the west, and sit down with Abra- 
ham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God. 
They shall see his face, and reign forever and 
ever," 1 Jo. iii. I, 2. Jo. xvii. 24. Rev. xxii. 5, 6. 
To conclude : learn what an invaluable blessing 
soul prosperity is. What is every other kind of 
prosperity when compared with this ? What are 
riches, health, fame, friends, power, grandeur, vic- 
tories, or even human learning and splendid tal- 
ents ? These may elate, but not sanctify. They 
give influence over others, but how little over 
their possessors 1 They rate high in the estima- 
tion of men, but how insignificant in the sight of 
God ! They are as blazing meteors for the mo- 
ment, but how soon extinct ! while the prosperous 
christian is a sun that shines forever. Ah ! his 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 139 

soul outweighs them all. Behold him, and you 
see more of God, of heaven, of true glory, and of 
solid happiness, than in all the universe beside. 
Learn, then, reader, to seek this. You may be a 
christian, it is true, but not a prosperous one. But 
be not content with just being alive ; with hav- 
ing a small share of health ; with just being able 
to make out that the vital spark exists, though it 
be low. Act with your soul as you would with 
your body, that it may be strong, vigorous, and 
healthy. Live upon the wholesome food the gos- 
pel affords ; use the spiritual exercise it pre- 
scribes ; avoid the contagious air it prohibits, and 
watch against those evils it points out, and which 
naturally tend to prevent growth and strength, en- 
ergy and action, in the best of services. 

Let not, however, the weak and young be dis- 
couraged. In reading this chapter, some may be 
ready to say, " Ah ! I am fearful I am deceiving 
myself. How little do I feel and know of what is 
here described I My heart is so cold, my knowl- 
edge so scanty, my faith so weak, my joys so few, 
that I am ready to conclude I am yet a stranger to 
divine grace." But fear not ; there may be life 
where there is not strength. A child may breathe, 
may feel ; but cannot speak, cannot walk, cannot 
judge. Thus you may be a subject of grace, 
though at present you possess not that extent of 
knowledge, that strength of faith, that joy of hope, 
as many. If God be the object of your affection, 
if sin be the cause of your grief, if it be sin tnat 
makes you so wretched and miserable from day to 



140 HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 

clay ; if it be deliverance from this for which you 
are perpetually groaning, if it be this, against 
which you are struggling, that causes the painful 
conflict, that fills your mind with such distress, 
then there is hope. Yes, reader, these desires are 
not implanted in your heart by nature, but by 
grace. And God works not upon the mind of them 
who are seeking him, to tantalize and disappoint 
them. Ycu often think, perhaps, that you are a 
hypocrite ; but the hypocrite knows nothing of 
holy sorrow. He is a stranger to spiritual distress. 
He discovers no anxious fears about his state. He 
never weeps for his sins ; but your rest is disturb- 
ed by night,, your peace by day : you are ready to 
droop and die ; your heart is almost* broken with 
grief, on account of transgression ; and shall you 
be lost ? No ! He says to the vine that has but a 
single cluster, " Destroy it not, for a blessing is in 
it." Go on, therefore. It may be a day of small 
things with you. You shall increase. Th& oak 
was once an acorn, the gigantic stature w^as once 
an infant, and things great and permanent often 
rise from small beginnings. Despond not, there- 
fore : the God of ail mercy and grace will not 
break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking 
flax. 



REMEMBRANCE OF, 8cc. 141 



CHAP. VII. 



REMEMBRANCE OF PAST EXPERIENCE. 

IT was an injunction which the apostle Paul 
gave to the Hebrews, to call to remembrance for- 
mer days. Heb. x. 34. The christian is not only 
called to look forward, and anticipate what is to 
come, but he is to take a retrospective view of what 
is past. There is, indeed, a looking back which is 
blameable ; such was the case of Lot's wife : but 
there is a looking back which is commendable^ and 
this belongs to every christian. '^ Thou shalt re- 
merhber," said Jehovah to the Israelites, " all the 
way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty 
years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to 
prove thee y to know what was in thine heart, 
whether thou wouldest keep his commandments 
or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to 
hunger, and fed thee with manna (which thou 
knewest not, neither did thy fathers know,) that 
he might make thee know that man doth not live by 
bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out 
of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Deut. 
viii. 2. Past experience, therefore, must be re- 
fiected on, and the advantages of it will be ever^^ 
N z 



i^'2 REMEMBRANCE OF 

way great. Sometimes it will afford instruction, 
at other times humiliation, and frequently consola- 
tion. " I will remember," said the psalmist, "the 
years of the right hand of the Most High. I will 
remember the works of the Lord ; surely I will 
remember thy wonders of old. O my God, my 
soul is cast down within me ; therefore I will re- 
member thee from the land of Jordan, and of the 
Hermonites from the hill Mizar." Ps. xlii. 7. Ps. 
Ixxvii. 10, i 1. 

But, to proceed, let us inquire what it is that the 
christian has to call to mind. And, first, we may 
observe, that he calls to remembrance his former 
ignorance, and the means by which he was brought 
out of darkness into God's marvellous light. 
^' Hearken unto me," saith the Lord, " ye that fol- 
low after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord, 
look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the 
bole of the pit, whence ye are digged." Is. li. 1. 
It is good to recollect what we once were. " And 
you," saith the apostle to the Ephesians, " hath he 
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. 
Wherein, in time past, ye walked according to the 
course of this world ; according to the prince of 
the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in 
the children of disobedience. Among whom, also, 
we all had our conversation in times past, in the 
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh 
and of the mind ; and were by nature the children 
of wrath, even as others." Eph. ii. 1, 2. " We 
ourselves, also," saith the apostle again to Titus, 
" were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, 
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice 



PAST EXPERIENCE. 143 

and envy, hateful, and hating one another." Titus 
iii. 4. Well the christian remembers the ignorance 
of his mind, the enmity of his heart, the strength 
of his prejudices, and the violence of his opposition 
against every thing serious and good. Religion 
had no charms for him : the sanctuary of the Lord 
was forsaken, the Bible neglected, the Sabbath pro- 
faned, and the ministers and people of God despis- 
ed. He saw no beauty in holiness, he felt no at- 
tachment to truth, he discovered no excellencies 
in the Redeemer, and, in a word, possessed not 
the least concern about his immortal sou^. He 
broke through every restraint, and pushed forv/ard 
through every difficulty, to gratify his corrupt pas- 
sions. Deaf to the calls of Providence, the expos- 
tulations of the righteous, the voice of conscience, 
and the holemn commands of God^s sacred word^ 
he ran with willing feet the road that leads to mis- 
ery and wo. To this dark and awful period of 
his life the christian looks back with trembling. 
He beholds with horror the dreadful precipice on 
which he stood. He meditates with concerii the 
imminent danger to which he was exposed. He 
laments before God that so much of his time 
should have been lost, his powers misemployed, 
and his soul dead to God, and the enjoyment of his 
favour. But, above all, he wonders at the patience 
and forbearance of God. '^ Why," saith he, ^' was 
I permitted to live ? why not made a monument 
of vindictive justice, and suffered to sink into eter- 
nal despair ? Why didst thou not cut me off as a 
cuHibtrer of the ground, drive me out of light into 
darkness, and chase nie out of the world ? Or why 



'144 REMEMBRANCE OF 

might I not have been left in a state of sin and 
wrath, to have filled up the measure of mine in- 
iquity, to have continued, like others, in rebellion 
against thee ? 

<« Why was I made to hear thy voice. 

And enter while there's room. 
While thousands make a wretched choice. 

And rather starve than come ?" 

When he considers the evil from which he has 
been delivered, the happy state to which he is 
brought, the danger in which he was involved, and 
the consequent blessings that arise from the 
change, he cannot forget even the instruments 
that were employed. Ah ! how he loves the very 
spot where he first heard the glad tidings of salva- 
tion ! How he venerates the character whom God 
honoured as the mean of his conversion ! Well, 
perhaps, he recollects the words that darted into 
his soul, and, like a sharp two-edged sword, pierc- 
ed even to the dividing asunder, as the apostle says, 
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and 
was a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
heart. Heb. iv. 12. Or, probably, it was some 
conversation with a friend, some singular provi- 
dence, some unexpected event, that was commis- 
sioned and sanctified for the happy purpose. A 
death in the family, a change in connexions, a 
heavy loss, a removal from one situation to anoth- 
er, was, perhaps, the mean of his first coming to 
think seriously about his state. He can never for- 
get the place where, the circumstance how, the 
time when, or the instrument by whom, he was 
brought to see himself as a miserable sinner, and 



PAST EXPERIENCE. 145 

that Christ alone could be his Saviour. He bless- 
es his God a thousand times that he was plucked 
as a brand from the burning ; he admires the 
wonders of his providence as to the way in which 
he was led to attend to divine things ; and re- 
joices, abundantly rejoices, in the remembrance of 
that all-powerful grace that opened his eyes, broke 
the fetters by which he was bound, and brought 
him into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 

But it may be said, every christian cannot thus 
remember all these circumstances. It is granted 
that some may be sanctified from the v/omb ; and 
thai in others the work has been so gradual, that 
they cannot recollect any particular sermon, provi- 
dence, place, or event, where and when the change 
was first wrought. This, I say, may be granted ; 
but, after all, even in these cases, though the 
means be not recollected, yet the cause is admir- 
ed ; and if the christian cannot tell when it was he 
JivH saw, yet ye blesses God that he does now see. 
There are very few instances, however, but in 
which christians can remember the time when 
they were not as they now are ; and though par- 
ticular circumstances cannot be pointed out, yet 
they can say, to the praise of Divine Grace, that 
they are made new creatures in Christ Jesus ; that 
old things are past away, and all things are be- 
come new. 2 Cor. v. 17. 

Conversions of which little or nothing can be 
remembered by the subjects, are, in my opinion, 
rare, and often liable to suspicion. We must not, 
however, limit the Holy One of Israel ; he can 
work upon the minds of his creatures in different 



146 REMEMBRANCE OF 

ways ; and while some are instantaneously changed, 
in others the work seems to be gradual, if not as to 
the communication of the first principle of grace, at 
least as to the evidence of it. It must be observed, 
however, that, wherever this principle is given, 
it will more or less produce light : light will pro- 
duce discovery ; and a discovery of ourselves, the 
evil of silly and the holiness of God, will in general 
humble the soul ; and, owing to the remains of 
corruption, painful conflicts will ensue. This, 
therefore, is another thing which many christians 
have to call to remembrance. Indeed, the sufferings 
of some have been very great before they were 
brought to a clear and comfortable view of the pro- 
vision made for them in the gospel of the Son of 
God. Many a christian can say, I remember the 
wormwood and the gall. How did my sins all ap- 
pear in array before me ! I thought I should have 
sunk under the burden. Not fit to live, and afraid 
to die, how intolerable was existence itself to me ! 
Innumerable evils compassed me about ; mine in- 
iquities took hold of me, so that I was not able to 
look up : they appeared more in number than the 
hairs of my head ; my heart failed within me. I 
said, what shall I do to be saved ? Where shall I 
go ? To what object shall I look ? Will the God 
whom I have so greatly offended ever look upon 
me ? Have I not done that which can never be 
forgiven ? And is not the mercy of the Lord clean 
gone forever ? Thus the christian has been involv- 
ed in the deepest distress, until directed to Calvary, 
there to behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away 
the sins of the world. By being enabled to view 



PAST EXPERIENCE. 147 

Jesus as an all-sufficient Saviour, at last the burden 
was removed ; and with pleasure he recollects the 
happy moment when light sprung in upon his soul, 
when his fears were dissipated, and, through divine 
goodness, he could say, with a holy confidence, 
" My Lord, and my God !" 

Being thus set at liberty, the christian calls to 
mind his consequent joy, his fervent gratitude, his 
ardent zeal. How lively was he then in prayer ! 
how did he pour out his soul to God ! He found it 
then not as a hard duty to be discharged, but as an 
inestimable privilege to be enjoyed. With inex- 
pressible pleasure he retired from the world to hold 
intercourse with God. Here he found his heaven, 
and his God : his spiritual strength was renewed, 
and his soul animated to go forward in the path of 
duty and of diligence. What spirituality, too, was 
there in his conversation ! Like the woman of 
Samaria, he was ready to say. Come, see a man that 
hath told me all things that ever I did. Is not this 
the Christ ? John iv. 29. How ready was he to 
reprove sin, to defend truth, to exalt the Saviour, 
and stir up his brethren ! What happy hours were 
spent in profitable conversation about the things of 
God ; how did the time pass away ; how did his 
heart burn v/ithin him ; how his face shone, and 
all took knowledge of him that he had been with 
Jesus ! With what alacrity he attended public 
ordinances ! With the psalmist he could say, " I 
" was glad when they said unto me, let us go into 
the house of the Lord." Ps. cxxii. 1 . With what 
delight has he sung. 



148 REMEMBRANCE OF 

*' How pleas'd and blest was I 

To hear the people cry. 
Come, let us seek our God to-day ; 

Yes, with a cheerful zeal, 

I'll haste to Zion's hill. 
And there my vows and honours pay." 

No little inconveniences then deterred him, no 
frivolous excuses were made to absent hinaself. 
Well he recollects how he has laboured to order 
and direct every thing in subserviency to this, and 
so to plan and execute his concerns, that he might 
be early and punctual in his attendance at the 
house of God. How eagerly he searched the sa- 
cred scriptures ; how regularly he read them ; 
how much he remembered ; and how willingly he 
hid them in his heart, that he might not sin against 
God. Could he not say with David, " O how I 
love thy law ! it is my meditation all the day. 
Thy testimonies are wonderful : I rejoice in them, 
as one that findeth great spoil.'* Ps. cxix. How 
anxious w^as he then also to do good ! What op- 
portunities did he embrace for this purpose ! How 
many pious and affectionate letters did he send to 
his friends and acquaintance, to tell them v/hat he 
experienced, and to recommend Jesus as the alto- 
gether lovely, and the Saviour of sinners ! Then it 
was he thought that he could suffer, that he could 
resign, that he could bear any thing, so that he 
might but bring sinners to him. How often has 
he said, '^ O that I could but convert my rela- 
tions ! How happy should I be, could they but see 
as I do ! What would I not do that my neighbours 
might know him whom my soul loveth ? yea, how 



PAST EXPERIENXli. 149 

I long that the whole world, which lieth in wick- 
edness, may repent and be saved 1" Thus in this, 
and many other instances, the christian discovered 
his first love and his ardent zeal for the promotion 
of the divine glory. But while many christians 
can call to mind these delightful feelings, yet how 
humbling is it for them to reflect, that they do not 
possess that holy fervour, that sacred zeal ^ow ! 
How do their minds reproach them ! They open 
the sacred volume, but how cutting is it to read, 
" Go and cry in the ears of 'Jerusalem, saying, 
Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the kind- 
ness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when 
thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land 
that was not sown. Ah ! my people have commit- 
ted two evils : they have forsaken me, the fountain 
of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, bro- 
ken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jer. ii. 2, 13. 
How have they to lament over the coldness of their 
affections, the unfruitfulness of their lives, and the 
sad lukewarmness into which they are sunk ! Once 
they could say, " Lord, I will follow thee whither- 
soever thou goest." No sacrifice was considered 
too great, no difficulty too formidable, no comfort 
considered so dear but what could be relinquished, 
so that the honour of God might be but proiiioted, 
and the interests of the soul furthered. But how 
is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold 
changed ! It is with shame and confusion of face 
the christian here looks back, while he thus be- 
mo-ins himself. *' Did I not cheerfully and will- 
ingly ^ive myself up to the Lord ? Did I not say. 
Here am I ; do with me as it seemeth thee good ? 

O 



loO REMEMBRANCE OF 

When I heard his voice saying, come out from the 
world, and be separate, did I not say, Amen, Lord ; 
so give me grace to obey thy will ? When suffer- 
ings presented themselves, did I not say, why art 
thou cast down, O my soul ; God is able to sup- 
port ; yea, he will support ? When opportunities 
of usefulness appeared, did I not say, let me work 
while it is day ? and was I not all activity in the 
best of services ? But now — Ah i it is too painful 
to think of, and the only encouragement is, that 
He who says, ' I have somewhat against thee, be- 
cause thou hast left thy first love, still invites to re- 
turn, and says, Remember from whence thou art 
fallen, and repent, and do the first works.' '* Rev. ii. 
4, 5. 

Yes, reader, this sad reverse, this transition 
from zeal to a state of lukewarmness, is not con^ 
templated or recollected by the christian without the 
deepest distress. For the punishment of his con- 
duct, his Lord has, perhaps, withdrawn the smiles 
of his face ; and now he languishes and mourns, 
and is ready to despond. " O that I were as in 
months past, when his candle shined upon my head, 
and when by his light I walked through darkness !" 
" O that I knew where I might find him, that I 
might come even to his seat, I would order my 
cause before him, and fill my mouth with argu- 
ments 1" Job xxiii. 3, 4. xxix. 2, 3. " Once 
I walked in the light of his countenance, and 
found him to be a God near at hand. I took ref- 
uge under the covert of his wings, and rejoiced in 
him as my God. I remember how he supported 
my soul, directed me in difficulties, supplied my 



PAST EXPERIENCE. 151 

wants, and made his strength perfect in my weak- 
ness. O what delightful views of the glorious per- 
fections of my God did I once enjoy ! What trans- 
porting views of the excellencies and glories of the 
Saviour ! How did the Holy Spirit bear witness 
with my spirit that I was born of God ! But now, 
how dark, how wretched, how benighted my soul ! 
Now my sins appear in the blackest light, and 
overwhelm my spirit. Time was when I could 
submit with patience to every trial ; when I could 
welcome shame, and hail reproach ; when, though 
troubles assailed me, yet I was confident in the 
Lord, and trusted in the God of my salvation : but 
now, how small a thing depresses my spirits ! how 
weak in faith, how little dependence placed on the 
Lord, and how backward to give up my all to him ! 
O that the Lord would arise, and scatter this dark- 
ness ; increase my faith, and bless me with the 
same happy enjoyments, and the same nearness to 
himself ! How sincerely with the poet can I join 
and say, 

" O for a closer walk with God, 

A calm and heavenly frame ; 
A light to shine upon the road 

That leads me to the Lamb ! 

Where is the blessedness I knew, 

When first I saw the Lord ? 
Where is the soul-refreshing view 

Of Jesus and his word ? 

What peaceful hours I then enjoy'd i 

How sweet their memory still ! 
But now I find an aching void 

The world can never fill. 



io2 , REMEMBRANCE OF 

Return, O holy Dove, return, 

Sweet Messenger of Rest ; 
I hate the sins that made thee mourn. 

And drove thee from my breast." 

Thus to many christians the remembrance of 
past experience, though profitable, is painful : and 
the recollection of their former zeal and activity for 
God shames them under a view of their present 
lukewarm and uncomfortable state. 

There are other parts, however, of his experi- 
ence that he remembers with peculiar pleasure ; 
and that is, what he has experienced of the kind- 
ness of God in his providence. He had marked 
out a path for himself, in which he thought he 
could have travelled with ease and advantage. 
This, however, he found was blocked up, and a- 
nother, apparently more circuitous, more difficult, 
more dreary, appeared. Here he entered, perhaps, 
with trembling steps ; he could discern but little 
before him, and was almost ready to murmur at 
the darkness that surrounded him. Bui renounc- 
ing at last his own will, and following the leadings 
of Providence, although in a variable path, he finds, 
to his own satisfaction, the propriety of listening 
to the advice of the wise man : *' Trust in the Lord 
with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own un- 
derstanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, 
and he shall direct thy paths.'* Prov. iii. 5, 6. 
Now he sees what a curse it would have been to 
him if he had followed his own schemes, and what 
a mercy it is that he has been disappointed in one 
thing, crossed in another, and diverted from a third. 

Now he can set to his seal that his word is true ; 

• 

*' that no chastening for the present seemeth to be 



PAST EXPERIENCE. 153 

joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward, it 
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto 
them which are exercised thereby." 

With what pleasure can he contemplate that 
Divine Wisdom and Power which have over-ruled 
all the trials and events of his life for good ; that 
from the bitter cup God has made him drink the 
sweetest draughts ; and that from the pricking 
thorn he has gathered the most fragrant flowers : 
yea, that the very rod that smote him yielded the 
very balm that healed him I Now he can say, 
" All things work together for good to them who 
love God, and are called according to his purpose.** 
Many a time has he pronounced this sentence with 
his lips, or read it, perhaps, in his Bible ; but now 
he has experienced its truth, and rejoices in its ac- 
complishment. Things which once appeared to 
him so discordant, events which happened so un- 
expectedly, circumstances which have transpired 
apparently so opposite to his interest, now he finds 
have all been subservient to his advantage. Yea, 
he is so satisfied with the divine proceedings to- 
ward him, that, were he to live his time over again, 
he would not have any thing altered as it relates to 
the divine conduct, for he is fully persuaded that 
all has been the result of Infinite Wisdom and 
Love. 

Indeed, he is not only pleased, but he is astonish- 
ed at that goodness and mercy which have always 
followed him. The goodness of God, that has al- 
ways supplied him, and the mercy of God, that 
has always pardoned and prevented him, excite his 
wonder and gratitude. On his own part he can 
O 2 



io4 REMEMBRANCE OF 

see nothing but unworthiness in his past life ; but 
on the part of the Almighty he beholds one con- 
tinual display of wisdom, power, favour; and faith- 
fulness. \Vell he remembers the kind interposi- 
tions of Providence in his behalf in the day of 
trouble. In an unexpected way, by an unexpect- 
ed instrument, he has been delivered^ In the par- 
oxysm of his distress he sat down and wept, and 
with Job was ready to say, " Mine eye shall no 
more see good." Acute pain, perhaps, that threat- 
ened his dissolution ; direful disease, about to 
sweep away his family ; false friends designing his 
ruin, or dreadful calamity hastening to reduce ta 
extreme poverty ; these most likely have, at one 
time or other, surrounded him ; when, lo ! in the 
midst of expected distresses, the kind hand of 
Providence has appeared, and given such a favour- 
able turn to events, as to cause him again to sing 
for joy. The shadow of death has been turned in- 
to the morning, and he who was on the verge of 
ruin could say, " I sought the Lord, and he heard 
me, and delivered me from all my fears. I said, 
I was cast out of thy sight. The waters compass- 
ed me about ; all thy waves and thy billows p^ass- 
ed over me : but I remembered the Lord, and 
my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy tem- 
ple. I will offer unto thee the sacrifice of thanks- 
giving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.** 
Jonah ii. 

Thus the christian, though he can find no re- 
sources of satisfaction from himself or his own 
conduct, finds perpetual pleasure in reflecting on 
the ways of God. The recollection of constaa^ 



PAST EXPERIENCE. 155 

supplies, the merciful preventions, the wise direc- 
tions, and manifold preservations he has experi- 
enced, is a source of support even in his darkest 
hours. 

But this will lead us to consider the advantages 
of remembering past experience, and these are 
great, a few of which we shall only enumerate. 
And, first, it teaches self-reproof to those who 
have left their first love. Of Jehosaphat it is said, 
that he walked in the first ways of his father Da- 
vid. David's Jirst ways are here represented as 
his best. And of how many may this be said ! 
Recollect, lukewarm christians, the former days, 
when nothing kept you from the house of God ; 
when, perhaps, you were the first to propose any- 
thing that was good, and the last to decline when 
any thing was difficult. Ah 1 how did your soul 
then burn with a holy jealousy, for the truth, and 
what were you not ready to sacrifice, so that you 
might promote it ! What constancy, what zeal, 
what courage, did you manifest ! And, ah ! is it 
you, who now say with your conduct, like Peter, 
" I know not the man ?" Is it you, of whom it is 
said in the world, none can equal him for his love 
of money, his desire of business, his ambition to 
be great ? Is it you, of v/hom it is whispered in 
the neighbourhood, he is not so particular, he is 
not so religious ; he is better company, he is more 
free and lively with us than he was ? Is it you, of 
whom it is said with sorrow in the church, he 
seldom is found in his place ; he is shy and indif- 
ferent to those he formerly delighted to associate 
livith. He has lost his zeal. He possesses little o? 



156 REMEMBRANCE OF 

no Spirituality. He is never seen in any scene of 
activity and usefulness ? Ah ! miserable man I 
look back, and ask what thou hast been doing. 
Blush for thy declension. Think of the happy 
moments formerly enjoyed, the sweet calm of thy 
mind, and the bright hope of thy soul. Where 
are these now ? Let conscience speak, and it will 
pronounce thee WTetched. Go thou to thy duty. 
Return to him from whom thou hast revolted ; 
still there is forgiveness. Pray for a revival ; 
and, wretched as thou art, there is a hand that 
will receive, mercy that >vill forgive, grace that 
will revive, and power that will protect thee. 

To the weak and discouraged christian the re- 
membrance of past experience may afford consola- 
tion. When Manoah was favoured with a divine 
manifestation, he misconstrued it, and said unto his 
wife, " We shall surely die, because we have seen 
.God." But his wife said unto him, " If the Lord 
were pleased to kill us, he would not have receiv- 
ed a burnt offering and a meat offering at our 
hands, neither would behave shewed us all these 
things, nor would, as at this time, have told us 
such things as these.'' Judges xiii. 22, 23. In 
like manner may a christian reason. What mean 
all my former experience, if I know not the Lord ? 
Should I ever have enjoyed communion with him, 
and been blessed with his presence, if he had meant 
to have destroyed me ? Should I ever have so ar- 
dently longed to be conformed to him, to beat* 
his image, and be devoted to his glory, if I had not 
tasted that he was gracious ? If I am an hypocrite, 
what mean these fears, these anxieties, respecting 



PAST EXPERIENCE. 15? 

my state ? Why so wretched when I fall into sin ? 
Why so happy when kept from it ? Why, if 1 am 
to be a cast-away, do I maintain the struggle ? Why 
did I formerly renounce the world, and how was I 
able to rise superior to it, if I never was a re- 
cipient of grace ? If I be deceived, what mean the 
happy Sabbaths I have enjoyed, the delightful 
feelings I have possessed when at a throne of 
grace ? Surely, if my heart has never btren changed, 
then from Avhat have all my former views, expe- 
rience, enjoyments, desires, conflicts, and feelings, 
been derived ? Can they be from any other source 
than grace ? x\nd shall grace be given in vain ? 
Will the Almighty, after shewing me all these 
things, abandon me forever ? Can it be ? Can rea- 
son prove it ? Doth scripture assert it ? Surely 
not. Yes, christian, you may safely reason thus. 
You may, Vv^ith propriety, make use of your form- 
er experience in this way. God never gave you 
light only to make you more wretched : he has not' 
convinced you of sin to terrify you with the thought 
of its never being pardoned ; he has not favoured 
you with a view of his glory, that you might know 
the loss of it. Surely, he has not taught you to 
struggle with sin, to breathe for holiness, to desire 
to be his, and then determined to cast you away 
from his presence forever. No ; this be far from 
him. You may therefore say with David, " Why 
art thou cast down, O my soul ; and why art thou 
disquieted within me ? Hope in God, for I shall yet 
praise him, who is the health of my countenance^ 
and my God.'' Ps. xlii. 5. 



158 R]&MEMBBANCE OF 

Farther ; the recollection of past experience exr 
cites thankfulness. When the Israelites gained 
the victory over the Philistines, Samuel took a 
stoiie, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and 
called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, " Hitherto 
hath the Lord helped us." 1 Sam. vii. 12. Da« 
vid looks back with thankfulness, and remembers 
the kind interpositions of Jehovah : '' Unless the 
Lord," says he, '' had been my help, my soul had 
almost dwelt in silence. When I said my foot 
slippeth, thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. 1 was 
brought low, and he helped me." Ps. xciv. 17, 18. 
" Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine 
eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. What 
shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits to- 
wards me ? I will take the cup of salvation, and call 
upon the name of the Lord." Ps. cxvi. 12, 13. 
Saint Paul contemplates with pleasure the wonder- 
ful deliverances wrought on his behalf, when he 
says, " Having obtained help of God, I continue 
unto this day." Acts xxvi. 22. What reason 
have you, christian reader, to use the same lan- 
guage ? How has the Lord supported you from 
your youth, even until now ! How often has he 
supplied your wants, dissipated your fears, sancti- 
fied your trials, delivered you from danger, and di- 
rected your footsteps ! Health, perhaps, has been 
continued in times of general sickness ; your char- 
acter preserved, notwithstanding the attempts of 
malignant foes ; your conscience saved from guilt, 
when surrounded with fiery temptations. With 
what gratitude must you look back upon these 
mercies ; and with what wonder, too, at the kind- 



FAST EXPERIENCE. 15^ 

ness of God who has caused every thing to work 
together for good I 

The recollection, too, of the many delightful op- 
portunities you have enjoyed, the many privileges 
you have been favoured with, the helps you have 
received, and the mercies that have ^een bestowed, 
all call for grateful acknowledgments. Surely, 
on a revicM^ of your past experience, notwithstand- 
ing all the trials and discouragements of the way, 
you must bear testimony to the wisdom of his 
providence, the greatness of his patience, the faith- 
fulness of his word, and the wonders of his love. 

As the remembrance of past mercies should ex- 
cite gratitude, so it should operate as a spur to du- 
ty. You have found, christian, the yoke of Jesus 
to be easy, and his burden light. The mildness of 
his government, the nature of his service, the 
clemency of his heart, the supplies of his grace, 
are all powerful arguments to stimulate to dili- 
gence. Recollect how little you have done ; how 
imperfectly you have done it ; how much you 
have to do ; how little time there is before you ; 
and how soon eternity will open to your view. 
You cannot be too devoted, you cannot be too ac- 
tively employed for so good a Master. " It is liigh 
time," says the apostle, '' to awake out of sleep, 
for now is our salvation nearer than when we be- 
lieved." The grace you have received, the many 
answers to prayer given, the enemies that have 
been conquered, the difficulties that have been sur- 
mounted, should encourage you to go forward. 
Think not of fainting now, after the battles that 
have been won, and the glory that has been 



160 REMEMBRANCE OF 

obtained. Despair not now, after the strength that 
has been communicated, and the deliverances you 
have experienced. Relax not now, after you have 
found the Lord to be faitlUul. Let the recollection 
of past favours stimulate to future exertions. 
Strength shal^ be given equal to the day. His 
grace is sufficient, and it is he that hath said, 
" Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jeho- 
vah is everlasting strength. Therefore be sted- 
fest, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of 
the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour 
is not in vain in the Lord.'* Is. xxvi. 3. 1 Cor. 
XV. 58. 

Lastly ; learn, from past experience of the di- 
vine goodness, to live more by faith, to be more 
dependent on the faithfulness and promises of 
God. I appeal to you, O christian reader, wheth- 
er the Lord has ever been " unto you as a wilder- 
ness, and a land of darkness." He has not given 
you up to wretchedness and wo ; he has not left 
you to yourself. A thousand and a thousand times 
he has alleviated your pain, heard your cries, and 
delivered you in the day of trouble. Why not, 
theus trust him with all your concerns, and leave, 
cheerfully leave, every event in his hand ? Re- 
member, from what you have already seen, that 
there is no darkness but he can turn into light, no 
crooked thing but he can make straight, no ene- 
my but he can conquer, no mountain but he can 
cause to become a plain. Go then, christian, to his 
throne. " Be careful for nothing, but in every 
thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanks- 



PAST EXPERIENCE 161 

giving, let your requests be made known unto 
God. And the peace of God, which passeth all 
undertanding, shall keep your heart and mind 
through Christ Jesus," Phil. iv. 6, 7, 



162 ON THE RELATION 



CHAP. VIII 



ON THE RELATION OF EXPERIENCE. 

IT is evident, from the consideration of the 
powers of man, that he was not made for himself. 
The social principle he possesses, the sympathy 
he feels, the faculties of communication bestowed 
upon him by his Maker, and the relation in which 
he stands, demonstrate that he was designed to 
exist not merely as a monument of creative wis- 
dom, but as an instrument to promote the welfare 
of his fellow creatures. Consider him as uncon- 
nected with society : his mind is contracted, his 
powers have but little room to play, and he be- 
comes subject to an innumerable multitude of evils, 
which his own wisdom cannot shun, nor his pow- 
er alleviate. The Almighty, therefore, has wisely- 
fitted him for social intercourse, by which his la- 
tent energies are exerted, his wants supplied, his 
mind informed, and the sorrows incident to this 
present state in some measure lessened. 

But if man in general be a creature formed for 
society, how much more so is the christian ! He 
not only possesses those principles common to ev- 
ery man, and which are adapted for the general 
benefit of others, while in this world, but he pos- 



OF EXPERIENCE. 163 

sesses still higher principles. He is endued with 
wisdom from above. The immortal soul is the 
object of his concern. He does not merely Jind 
himself in society, but he wishes to be active in it, 
in order that good may be done, and the glory of 
God promoted by his instrumentality. V^arious 
are the ways by which these noble ends are to be 
accomplished. Reading the scriptures, supplica- 
tion, meekness of spirit, and a holy conduct, he 
considers as excellent means of doing good. But 
he beholds himself as an object of discriminating 
favour. He can never forget what great things 
God has done for him. A sense of these lies 
warm on his heart He cannot be silent. " Shall 
all creation speak,'* he exclaims, '^ shall all the 
universe be as one tongue to celebrate the divine 
benignity, shall all the dispensations of his provi- 
dence loudly proclaim his glory, and shall 1 be 
dumb ? No ! the very stones v^ould cry out. I 
have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Others 
shall learn from my relation the wonders of sove- 
reign grace and redeemin.o: love. " Open thou 
my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell 
you what he hath done for my soul ! Suffer me a 
little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak 
on God's behalf." Ps. li. 15. Ps. Ixvi. 16. Job. 
XXX vi. 2. 

" Come ye, that fear the Lord, 

And listen while I tell 
How narrowly my feet escap'd 

The snares of death and hell. 



164 ON THE RELATION 

My drooping head he rais'd. 
My bleedijig" wounds he heal'd ; 

Pardon'd my sins, and with a smile 
The gracious pardon seal'd. 

O may I ne'er forget 

The mercy of my God, 
Nor ever want a tongue to spread 

His loudest praise abroad !" 

Dr. Stennett. 

In this way it is that the christian desires to be 
useful, and becomes a blessing to society. While 
he diligently makes use of every mean that is ap- 
pointed, gratitude constrains him to testify to oth- 
ers the obligations he is under to his God. He has 
nothing to glory in, as it respects himself. His 
communications are not the communications of the 
vain boaster, the self-conceited pharisee, or the 
loquacious but empty professor. He is humbled 
in the dust under a conviction of his unworthiness. 
He considers himself as an unprofitable servant: 
and though his tongue be as the pen of a ready 
writer, yet his speech is with grace, seasoned with 
salt. Out of the good treasure of his heart he 
bringeth forth good things. 

But now let us consider more particularly what 
forms the subject matter of his conversation in the 
relation of his experience to others. And, first, 
the grace of God in his conversion is often a 
pleasing topic on which he delights to dwell. 
Amidst the vast variety of subjects that occupied 
the mind, dwelt on the lips, and employed the pen 
of the apostle Paul, that of his own conversion was 
not the least insisted on and brought forward. 



OF EXPERIENCE. 165 

What a noble, manly, beautiful, and interestinj^ 
account does he give when standings before Agrip- 
pa ! When writing to the Corinthians, he did not 
forget to relate the goodness of God towards him 
in this respect. '^ Christ," says he, " after his 
resurrection, was seen of above five hundred 
brethren at once. After that he was seen of James ; 
then of all th« apostles. And last of all he was 
seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet 
to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the 
church of God. But, by the grace of God, I am 
what I am ; and his grace, which was bestowed 
upon me, was not in vain ; but I laboured more 
abundantly than they all ; yet not I, but the grace 
of God which was with me.*' I Cor. xv. 1, &c. 
Thus, also, wiien writing to the Galatians, he 
says, " For ye have heard of my conversation in 
time past in the Jews* religion, how that beyond 
measure I persecuted the church of God, and 
wasted it. And profited in the Jews' religion 
above many my equals in mine own nation, being 
more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my 
fathers. But when it pleased God, ^vho separated 
me from my mother's \vomb> and called me by 
his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might 
preach him among the heathen, immediately I con- 
ferred not with flesh and blood," Sec. Gal. i. IS, 8cc. 
With what a noble triumph does he declare to the 
Philippians the effects of his conversion ? " What 
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for 
Christ. Yea, doubtless, artd I count all things 
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge: 

P 2 



^^^ ON THE RELATION 

of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered 
the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, 
that I may win Christ.'' PhiL iii. 7, 8. Again, in 
writing to Timothy, how he expresses his grati- 
tude ! " I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath 
enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, put- 
ting me into the ministry, who was before a blas- 
phemer, and a persecutor, and injurious, 8cc." 
1 Tim. i. 12, 13, &c. But it may be objected, that 
the apostle's conversion was miraculous, and, there- 
fore, deserved a frequent relation and a lasting re- 
cord. It is granted it was. But is not the conver- 
sion of every impenitent man a kind of miracle ? 
It is a work which can be effected only by the 
same Power that can create a world, or reverse the 
general laws of nature. The darkness of the un- 
derstanding, the obstinacy of the will, the unruli- 
ness of the affections, can only be removed by a su- 
pernatural influence. The work is not of man. 
" Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leop- 
ard his spots ? then may ye also do good, that are 
accustomed to do evil." Jer. xiii. 23. Conversion, 
therefore, is the work of a divine hand ; and when 
a man is brought to see his wretched state by na- 
ture, that he merits nothing but wrath, that per- 
petual misery must have been his portion if he had 
been left to himself, the change that is produced 
cannot be considered by him in any other light than 
as an extraordinary event ; an event which is of 
such importance to him as an immortal creature, 
that it cannot fail to impress with gratitude, and 
stimulate to love. An event, which, as it will be 
celebrated forever in the world above, cannot, will 
not, be forgotten in this world below. 



OF EXPERIENCE. 167 

But it is not the circumstance of his conversion 
only, but the influence of the Holy Spirit in his 
sanctification also, that he has to bear testimony of 
before others. He remembers the time when 
sin was the object of his delight ; when he 
pursued the pleasures of the world with avidi- 
ty ; when the religion of Jesus and the gospel of 
his salvation were ridiculed as a fable. But now 
he finds himself a new creature : old things are 
passed away, and all things are become new. He 
has new perceptions, new affections, new conso- 
lations, new expectations, and new companions. 
But to what does he attribute the happy change ? 
To the force, of education, the power of argu- 
ment, the resMution of self, the exertions of his 
own mind ? No ; but to the agency of that Divine 
Being, whose prerogative it is to illuminate the 
mind, and sanctify the heart. " Ye are washed," 
says the apostle, '' ye are sanctified, ye are justifi- 
ed in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spir- 
it of our God." 1 Cor. vi. II. To this he can 
subscribe, as being the sentiment of his own 
mind. '^ It is the Holy Spirit," says he, '' that 
wrought in me a hatred to sin and a regard to 
holiness. He took of the things of the Saviour, 
and discovered them unto my soul. I was igno- 
rant, proud, insensible, and careless like others; 
but now 1 can testify of tnat powerful grace, that 
has, in a measure, subdued the impetuous passions 
of my corrupt nature. Now 1 love that which 
once I abhorred, and hate that which once I loved. 
Sin appears exceeding sinful. I can no longer 
indulge it as I once did ; no longer look upon it 
with delight, no longer countenance it in others. 



168 ON THE RELAXrON 

But it is to thee, O blessed Spirit, that I am in- 
debted for these views, these feelings ; and it is by 
thy influence alone that I have been enabled to re- 
nounce the world, and to persevere in the good 
old way. Not unto me, not unto me, but unto 
thy name, be all the glory and all the praise. 
Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine 
eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will 
sing of thy power, I will proclaim thy goodness. 
Thou hast done great things for me, whereof I 
am glad. Rejoice with me, ye righteous, and give 
thanks. Let us praise his name together, and talk 
of his marvellous grace, that has brought my soul 
into the path that leads to everlastin^life and glory." 
The goodness of God in supplying both his tem- 
poral and spiritual wants, forms a pleasing sub- 
ject of relation. Thus the psalmist could say, 
" I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and deliv- 
ered me from all my fears. My mouth shall 
shew forth his righteousness and his salvation all 
the day, for I know not the numbers thereof. He 
maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he 
leadeth me beside the still waters. He re- 
storeth my soul, and leadeth me in the paths of 
righteousness for his name^s sake." Ps. xxxiv. 4. 
Ps. Ixxil Ps. xxiii. Thus the apostle Paul could 
say, " I have all, and abound. I have learned, in 
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual bles- 
sings in heavenly places in Christ/' Phil. iv. 11. 
Eph. i. 3. Nothing is more pleasant to the chris- 
tian than to testify of the divine care which has al- 
ways been manifested towards him. How often have 



OF EXPERIENCE. 169 

his necessities been supplied ! and, perhaps, in the 
seasons of extremity, Providence has interposed on 
his behalf. " Various," says the christian, '' have 
been the scenes through which I have passed, 
many dark nights, and dreadful storms ; but my 
God hath supported me in the midst of all. Un- 
der the shadow of his wings have I been kept. 
With what care has he watched over me, with 
what tenderness beheld me, with what wisdom 
guided me ! How oft, when I have been scheming 
for myself, and laying out my plans, has he frus- 
trated all, profitably disappointed me, and saved 
me from unknown trouble and sorrow ! At other 
times, when I have sat pensive, wondering how I 
should obtain the blessings I desired, and almost 
ready to despair of possessing them, how has the 
Lord appeared ! He has caused his goodness to 
pass before me Friends have been raised up 
where I expected nothing but enemies, comforts 
have been sent in the place of crosses ; circum- 
stances, which in themselves have appeared un- 
pleasant, have been so over-ruled by the wise hand 
of Providence, as to become the means of my sup- 
port ; and that which I dreaded as a trial, has ac- 
tually became a source of peace and joy. O how 
great is his goodness to the children of men ! 
Bless the Lord, O my soul.'' 

But the christian has not been without his 
troubles. Many are the afflictions of the righteous ; 
and he has found it true, that man is born to trouble 
as the sparks fly upward. But here he hath a 
pleasing testimony to bear to the kindness of his 
heavenly Father. He has been supported in the 



1^0 ON THE r:ela.tion 

hour of distress, and the house of mourning has 
been to him the house of prayer, and the place of 
joy. " Never," says he, '' could I have thought I 
should have been enabled to bear what I have borne. 
Could I have foreseen all, how should I have 
trembled ! But where now is the mountam ? Is it 
not a plain ? Where now are the deep waters ? 
Are they not all dried up ? How has affliction been 
sanctified ! What a blessing has the cross been to 
my soul ! How true is his word 1 '' When thou 
passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and 
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. 
When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt 
not be burnt ; neither shall the flame kindle upon 
thee," Is. xliii. 2. 

Most christians have something to say of God's 
presence afforded them in the trying moment. 
Could prison walls speak ; could the solitary 
chambers of sickness ; could places of exile, and 
the habitations of wo, where christians have been 
sometimes confined, bear witness, what pleasing 
and interesting scenes would they unfold ! While 
their enemies have thought them suff'ering, they 
have been rejoicing ; and though not indeed 
without feeling the cross, yet how light has it been 
rendered to them by the smiles of their God ! 
How many have had reason to be thankful for 
their afflictions ! " Glory be to God 1" said one, 
" I never was in such trouble before ; and never 
was I so supported and comforted.'* Thus also 
many can say In the dark and gloomy valley 
light hath appeared ; flowers have sprung up in 
the wilderness j and the spot that looked so barren 



OF EXPERIENCE. 171 

has become verdant and fruitful. " Thou, O 
Lord," can the christian say, " hast heard me 
in the day of my calamity : I have heard thy voice, 
I have enjoyed thy presence. In the day when I 
cried, thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me 
with strength in my soul. Thou hast made the 
storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
What shall I render unto the Lord for all his ben- 
efits towards me ? I will take the cup of salvation, 
and call upon the name of the Lord.'* Ps. cxvi. 
12, 13. 

The power of God in conquering his enemies, 
and delivering him out of his difficulties, forms 
also another part of his relation. There are few 
christians but what can remember a variety of 
signal deliverances from trouble. These the 
christian attributes not to second causes, not to 
human means, but to the interposition of a supe- 
rior power. One can say, " I was surrounded 
with danger, and saw no possible way for escape : 
the scene grew darker every hour, and I was al- 
most ready to exclaim, " The mercy of the Lord 
is clean gone forever," when suddenly help was 
afforded me, a refuge was discovered, and the 
means of safety were unexpectedly given." 
Another can say, " I was fast bound by the cords 
of affliction ; I struggled to get free, but all in 
vain : my heart was ready to faint within me ; 
troubles accumulated, the prospect of deliverance 
every day shortening ; when behold the hand of 
Providence appeared in setting me at liberty, and 
that in such a way as I never thought of !" A 
third can say, " I was ready to sink under the 



l'^^ ON THE RELATION 

pungent conviction of my own depravity. I was 
fearful of falling a victim to the wrath of an offend- 
ed God. I saw no evidence to conclude that I was 
among the number of the righteons. < Miserable, 
sinful wretch !* said I : ' will not God be glorifi- 
ed in thy destruction ? For how can one so sinful 
and unworthy ever inherit the kingdom of heav- 
en l* But how distinguishing the goodness of God ! 
He appeared for my relief. He dissipated the 
cloud ; I was enabled to look up ; I saw on the 
cross the bleeding Saviour, I beheld the motto 
written on his breast, ' Behold the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sins of the world.' My 
fears subsided, peace was bestowed, and I was ena- 
bled to arise, and to go on my way rejoicing." A 
fourth can say, ^' I w^as beset with enemies, I was 
an object of reproach, ' a scorn and derision to 
them who were round about me.' Malevolence 
laid a snare ; the tongue of slander misrepresent- 
ed my motives and actions, and hatred opposed my 
interest in every direction. But how has the 
Lord verified his word ! I heard his voice saying, 
' Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in 
him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall 
bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy 
judgment as the noon day. Rest in the Lord, and 
wait patiently for him -, fret not thyself because of 
him who bringeth wicked devices to pass.' Ps. 
xxxvii. 5, 6, 7. He has now made mine enemies 
to be at peace with me ; they have been brought 
to see the folly of their own conduct ; and those 
who were once violent and injurious are now be- 
come quiet and submissive." 



OF EXPERIENCE. 173 

A fifth can say, " I was bereaved, and left dis- 
consolate : I thought I could never be happy 
any more. The world became as a wilderness 
unto me. ' I am,' said I, ' made to possess 
months of vanity, and wearisome nights are ap- 
pointed unto me.' When I lie down, I said, 
* When shall I arise, and the night be gone ? I 
am full of tossing to and fro unto the dawning of 
the day.' Job vii. 3, 4. But how merciful is 
Jehovah 1 he healed my wounded spirit, he dried 
up my tears. I ' forgot my misery, and remem- 
bered it as waters that pass away." Another can 
say, '' With what horror have I looked upon the 
last enemy, death ! How often has the thought of 
it made me tremble ! What anxious cares have I 
had for my friends, my children and those about 
me ! How painful was the thought of leaving 
them ; how hard to take the last farewell ! But, 
now, thanks be to God, lie has heard my prayer, 
he has taken away the fear. ' All the days of my 
appointed time will I wait till my change come. 
I have listened to the command, leave thy father- 
less children ; I will preserve them alive : and let 
thy widows trust in me. For me to live is 
Christ, and to die is gain." I rejoice in the 
thought of being forever with him. " I shall 
behold his face in righteousness : when I awake, 
I shall be satisfied with his likeness." Ps. xvii. 
15. Jer. xlix. 11. Phil. i. 21. Job xix. 26. 
Job xiv. 14. 

Thus have christians to relate to others various 
but merciful deliverances from trouble. And how 
animating is it to hear what God has done for those 

Q 



174 ON THE RELATION 

who trust in him ; of faith honoured, prayers an- 
swered, deliverances wrought, and mercies re- 
ceived ! 

The relation of our experience may, however, be 
objected to by some. Religion, say they, is silent. 
It occupies the heart. Besides, does if not savour 
of ostentation and vanity to be talkuig of ourselves ? 
These are futile objections. Religion, it is grant- 
ed, is not clamorous : but then it is benevolent. It 
is of a quiet and peaceable nature ; but then it is 
not dumb. She must lift up her voice, but then it 
is the voice of mercy and of kindness. She is life 
as well as f^eace. '^ Not the life of a fury, that hath 
no peace in it ; nor the fieace of a stone, that hath 
no life in it.*' Religion, it must be acknowledged, 
takes its rise in the heart, but then it is not to be 
confined there. It is of too operative a nature to be 
inclosed within the boundaries of the understand- 
ing. The affections will be moved;, and when 
that is the case, the eye will weep, the tongue 
iTiust speak, and every power will be exerted and 
roused to activity. 

Besides, it cannot savour of ostentation, when 
the tendency is to exalt the Creator, and abase the 
creature. Christians have nothing to say to set 
themselves off. but to magnify the grace of God. 
The relation they give, the testimony they bear, 
is founded on gratitude, influenced by love, attend- 
ed with humility, and has for its end the glory of 
God, and the welfare of immortal souls. 

But the propriety of declaring our experience 
we may consider farther, by observing, that it is 
both implied and commanded in the sacred scrip- 



OF EXPERIENCE. 175 

tures : " Let us consider one another,'* says the 
apostle, '' to provoke unto love and to good works. 
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves togeth- 
er, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one 
another ; and so much the more, as ye see the 
day approaching." Heb. x. 24, 25. " Go home 
to thy friends," said our Lord to him that had 
been possessed with the devil, " and tell them 
how great things the Lord hath done for thee." 
Mark V. 19. " Let the word of Christ dwell in 
you richly, teaching and admonishing one another 
in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing 
with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Col. iii. 
16. It is evident, from these passages, that chris- 
tians are to assemble together, and no one caa 
suppose that the relation of what God has done for 
them is to be excluded from their exercises on 
such occasions. It forms a considerable part of 
christian edification, and in some measure resem- 
bles the heavenly world, w^here we shall not only 
forever contemplate the work of God in ourselvesj 
but in all those who shall surround the throne. 

Reserved, solitary christians should remember 
this. If it be a command to assemble ourselves 
together, is it not wrong wilfully to abstain from 
the society of the righteous ? If it be a duty to 
communicate, is it not highly irnpfoper to be si- 
lent ? Yet there are some, who, from a singularity 
of temper, or a timidity almost bordering on sin- 
fulness, that seem to be travelling to heaven alone. 
They join no society, they keep their experience 
from others, and proceed without mingling their 
joys and their griefs with those who are going the 



IT'S ON THE RELATION 

same way. But such little know how disadvan- 
tageous this is to themselves. They have to bear 
their own burdens ; their sorrows, confined within 
their own breasts, are ready to tear them asunder. 
Not having communication with others, they are 
ready to suppose that none are so tried as them- 
selves ; and if they do stumble, they have none to 
interpose and save. Let such recollect what the 
wise man has left on record, that " two are better 
than one, because they have a good reward for 
their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up 
his fellow ; but wo to him that is alone when he 
falleth, for he hath not another to lift him up." 
Eccl. iv. 9, 10. 

Farther ; we may observe that, in the relation 
of our experience, we follow the example both of 
Old and New Testament saints. " We took 
sweet counsel," says David, " and walked unto 
the house of God in company." Ps. Iv. 14. " They 
that feared the Lord," says the prophet Malachi, 
>' spake often one to another, and the Lord heark- 
ened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was 
written before him, for them that feared the Lord, 
and that thought upon his name." Mai. iii. 16. 
" When Je&us was presented in the temple, Anna, 
the prophetess, coming in that instant, gave thanks 
likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all 
them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." 
Luke ii. 38. The woman of Samaria, feeling the 
power of divine grace in her own heart, could not 
help exclaiming, " Come, and see a man, which 
told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the 
Christ ?" John iv. 29. The apostle Paul observes 



OF EXPERIENCE. 177 

of the Corinthian church, ^' When ye come to- 
gether, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doc- 
trine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an in- 
terpretation. Let all thin^^s be done to edifying. 
If all prophesy, and there come in one that believ- 
eth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, 
he is judged of all. And thus are the secrets of 
his iieurt made manifest, and so, falling down on 
his face, he will worship God, and report that God 
is in you of a truth." 1 Cor. xiv 24, 25, 26. 

Such also are within the promise. " When 
two or three are gathered together in my name, 
there,"^ says the Saviour, " am I in the midst of 
them." Matt xviii. 20. To meet for the pur- 
pose of declaring the great things God has done 
for us ; to exalt the Saviour, by relating to each 
other the wonders of his love, the effects of his 
grace, the views we have of his dignity, his provi- 
dences, his word, his life and death ; this is surely 
to meet in his name. Such may expect to enjoy 
the divine blessing, and to grow in the divine life. 

The relief it affords to ourselves is an encour- 
ment to be often found in this work. How pleas-- 
ant to tell others the way by which we came, the 
incidents that befel us, the dangers we escaped, 
and the kind and continual assistance w^e received 
from our heavenly Father ! How our burdens lose 
their weight, when others, by their attention to^ 
our story and sympathy with our state, take a part 
on themselves ! " When we can diffuse our lives? 
oui^elves, our concerns, so far as to weep with a- 
nother's eyes;, when v/e have another heart be- 
sides our own, both to share and to. suppoi!t our 



i^S ON THE RELATION 

griefs ; and when, if our joys overflow, we can 
treasure up the overplus and redundancy of them 
in another's breast, so that we can, as it were, 
shake off the solitude of a single nature by dwell- 
ing in two bodies at once, and live by another's 
breath/'* 

But, finally, we may consider what influence it 
has on others, as well as ourselves. How many 
may be instructed by the judicious relation of a 
godly man ! How often does it produce light in 
the understanding of the ignorant ! How it re- 
solves cases of conscience, under which the trem- 
bling believer had been doubting ! and how often 
does it point out the way the inquiring traveller 
should go ! Does it not frequently operate, also, 
as a preventive ? We hear how the plans of oth- 
ers have failed ; how dangerous it is to go near 
the precipice. How uncertain all things here are ; 
how necessary that our dependence should be en- 
tirely on God, and that no confidence should ever 
be placed on things of an earthly nature. But what 
consolation, also, is to be derived, when we hear 
how faithful God has been to his promises ! How 
wonderfully he has appeared for them who looked 
to him ! How mercifully he has alleviated pain, 
directed in time of difficulty, protected in seasons 
of danger^ and enabled the christian to persevere 
through every trial ! How does this animate to du- 
ty, excite holy courage, and humble confidence 1 
Will not the hearer of such relations be ready to 
say, " Shame, then, be to me that I should be so 
unbelieving, so impatient, so little dependent. 

♦ South. 



OF EXPERIENCE, IY9 

Father of Mercies, increase my faith, stir up my 
soul to serve thee with constant zeal and holy ac- 
tivity. O may I trust in thy name, go forward in 
thy work, and at last reach the mansions of eternal 
glory !'' 

We might here subjoin a few observations as to 
the manner of relating our experience. But the 
reader will find something said on this head in the 
eleventh chapter, under Advice respecting Exfie- 
rience. 



180 THE AGED CHRISTIANAS 



CHAP. IX. 



THE AGED CHRISTIANAS EXPERIENCE. 



THERE cannot be a more naelancholy sight 
than old age insensible to religion, and hardened in 
the ways of iniquity. To see a person on the verge 
of eternity who has devoted all his life to ungodli- 
ness, who is sti^ unmindful of the interests of the 
immortal soul, deaf to reproof, and abandoned to 
vice, is of all things the most affecting. Who can 
behold such an object without pity, without sor° 
row, without the most lively concern ? Who, pos- 
sessed of the least benevolent feeling, but must 
say, " O that such were wise, that they under- 
stood, that they did but consider their latter end !" 
Deut. xxxii. 29. 

On the contrary, what a pleasing, what an inter- 
esting sight to behold the aged turning their back 
upon the world, walking in the path of godliness, 
and longing for a better state ! ^^ The hoary head 
is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of 
righteousness." Prov. xvi. 31. Piety is always 
ornamental- In youth, how lovely and amiable I 
In middle age, how bright and useful 1 but in old 
age, how venerable, how commanding, how re- 
spectful I This is, indeed, a crown of glory, which, 



EXPERIENCE. 181 

notwithstanding the decrepitude of the animal 
frame, and the decay of the intellectual powers, yet 
adorns the possessor, and reflects a splendour in the 
circle where he moves. How delightful to behold 
the aged christian contemplating with gratitude on 
the divine conduct toward him, and still ardently 
imploring the continuance of the divine blessing ! 
How pleasant to hear him, with the psalmist, say- 
ing, " O God, thou hast taught me from my 
youth, and hitherto bave I declared thy wondrous 
w^orks. Now also, when I am old and gray-head- 
ed, O God, forsake me not, until I have shev/ed 
thy strength unto this generation, and thy power 
to every one that is to come.'* Ps. Ixxi. 17, 18. 

But we are not going to draw the aged christian 
as the picture of perfection. Allowing that he 
may have greater claims both to knowledge and 
experience than others, yet it must be remember- 
ed that he is still in the flesh, and consequently 
subject to infirmities. Yea, there are some things 
which are more peculiar to old age than to any 
other part of human life, and v/hich even the best 
and wisest christians in that stage find too power- 
fully operating in their own breasts. The weak- 
ness brought on by length of years often disposes 
them to be peevish and fretful. A little thing 
makes an impression on their spirits. They are 
ready to imagine every thing militates against 
them. They will hardly indulge the young in a 
sprightly conversation, or a lawful vivacity. As 
the powers begin to be contracted, and the senses 
lose their wonted operation, the mind often sinks 
into a state of gloom, and this gloom becomes a 



182 THE AGED CHRISTIAN'S 

medium through which they are apt to look at 
surrounding objects. Hence their complaints that 
every thing is worse than formerly ; that the pres- 
ent age is so much inferior to the past. 

How often does covetousness also strive to pre- 
dominate at this time of life ! How many fears 
perplex the minds of the aged, lest, during the 
remaining small portion of their lives, something 
should happen to deprive them of their property, 
or expose them to want ! How do they sometimes 
forget the providence which hath always attended 
them, and act as if they thought they were des- 
tined to live many years ! as if there were many 
wants to be supplied, and as if the same kind Prov- 
idence would not take care of them when they 
shall be once more reduced to that state when 
they cannot take care of themselves. 

These things too often injure the mind of 
many ; and hence arises that lukewarmness to 
be seen in some aged professors. It is a sad 
thing, however, to behold christians declining as 
they draw near the grave. For to be anxious 
about the world when we are going to leave it, 
indicates a heart little influenced by grace ; and 
is as inconsistent as for a man to adorn himself 
with gold and silver just as he is going to bed. 
While therefore the natural infirmities of the aged 
demand tenderness, and excite our sympathy, yet 
we cannot but pity and deplore the case of those 
who make complaints, indulge avarice, and im- 
bibe a worldly spirit. 

Aged christians in general,, however, have not 
so learned Christ. They feel these evils, indeed, 
struggling with them, while they often stop and 



EXPERIENCE. 183 

drop a tear that they who are on the confines of 
heaven should at any time feel themselves alive 
to the world. It is not their element. They are 
seeking a better country ; they are desirinL^ to 
enter into that rest which is prepared for them 
above. Yes ; we are thankful that the christian 
church produces so many instances of long-stand- 
ing monuments of divine goodness, who have been 
preserved, notwithstanding the rude blasts of op- 
position and the fiery trials to which they have 
been exposed ; and wiiich, blessed be God, shall 
yet stand, immoveably stand, through death and 
everlasting ages. 

We will now proceed to consider what is more 
particularly characteristic of the aged christian's 
experience. 

And, first, v/e may observe in the aged christian 
that wisdom and knowledge which are not gen- 
erally found in those of younger years. " Days 
speak, and multitude of years teach wisdom." 
Job xxxii. 7. They have learned much by their 
experience ; the length of time they Ivdwe been in 
the world has taught tiiem knowledge. What 
revolutions have they w^itnessed in the w^orld I 
What changes in families ! What vicissitudes in 
every thing about him 1 What different appear- 
ances have surrounding objects assumed ! What 
strange events have taken place ! In what difi*er- 
ent circumstances, perhaps, do they behold them- 
selves to those in which they once were ! As 
they have long been in the way, what a multi- 
tude of objects have presented themselves to their 
vie^y ! How have they been tried by their own 



184 THE AGED CHRISTIANAS 

hearts ! How often been drawn away by their 
own corruptions ! By what sad experience have 
they arrived to a knowledge of themselves ! 
How severe sometimes has been the conflict with 
the enemy of souls ! How have they been deceiv- 
ed by his insidious snares ! How constantly op- 
posed by his attacks ! How wearied and exhaust- 
ed by his fiery temptations ! What have they 
suffered from the world, from its frowns, from its 
smiles, from its cares, its connexions, its allure- 
ments ! What dark providences, what unexpect- 
ed and accumulated afflictions, have they in the 
course of their long pilgrimage been called to 
bear ! But have they gained nothing by the view 
and the experience of all these circumstances ? 
Yes, verily. How has it enlarged their minds ! 
What a different idea have they of things to what 
they once had 1 The vanity of the world, the mu- 
tability of the creature, the sudden transitions from 
pain to pleasure, from dignity to contempt, from 
friendship to enmity, from the calm to the storm, 
which they have so frequently witnessed in this 
state of things, make them moderate in their en- 
joyments, prudent in their measures, cautious in 
their pursuits, and suspicious of that security 
which the world promises to afford. They have 
seen enough to wean their minds from sublunary 
things, and to excite them to place their hope and 
confidence in God only. " My soul, wait thou on- 
ly upon God, for my expectation is from him : 
He, only, is my rock and salvation. I will, there- 
fore, look unto him, and not be afraid. The 
Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I 



EXPERIENCE. 185 

hope in him/' Ps. Ixii. 5, 6. Is. xii. 2. Lam. 
iii. 24. 

But this leads us immediately to consider the 
aged christian in his proper character, as dead to 
the world. Indeed, every thing about him, and 
within him, rightly considered, has a tendency to 
remind him of his duty in this respect. The voice 
of nature cries, nor can he be deaf to her calls. 
His mortal tabernacle, like an ancient dwelhng, 
gives evident signs of decay. Already, indeed, 
parts of the feeble mansion have fell. Death has 
begun his attack. It appears in the faculty of vis» 
ion, over which the last enemy has drawn a veil. 
It hath filled the countenance with a pallid look. 
It has benumbed the animal frame. Strength is 
nearly gone : " the evil days are come, the years 
wherein there is no pleasure, the grass-hopper be- 
comes a burden, and desire fails.'* Eccl. xii. 1, 5. 

What an affecting sight also now presents itself 1 
He locks around, but where are the objects that 
formerly delighted him ? Yonder habitation, once 
possessed by a friend, now becomes the habitation 
of a stranger. There dwelt the companion of his 
youth, and the associate of his middle age ; but 
he is no more. Behold that whole family, that 
bid fair to withstand many a storm, now all swept 
away by death ! He has seen almost every thing 
decay. O how lie looks back to the spot where he 
formerly enjoyed happiness, where he beheld the 
objects of his affection, where his comforts were 
thick about him J He revisits the place, he sighs 
over the spot. It is all barren now. He can only 
drop a tear, and return, " He now finds himself 
R 



^B6 THE AGED CHttlSTIAN'ji 

almost a solitary being in the midst of a new gen- 
eration, whose ft\ces he hardiy knows. The 
shades of his departed friends rise up before him, 
and warn him that it is time to depart. Nature and 
Providence summon him to be gathered to his fa- 
thers. Reason admonishes him, that, as his pre- 
decessors made way for him, it is just that he 
should give place to those who have risen to suc- 
ceed him on this busy stage ; who for awhile shall 
fill it with their actions, and their sufferings, and 
then shall, in their turns, withdraw, and be joined to 
the foreotten multitudes of former ages. 

But above all, his nearness to heaven admonish- 
es him to leave the world. How long have I to 
live, said Barzillai to the King, that I should go 
up with the King to Jerusalem ? I am this day 
fourscore years old ; and can I discern between 
good and evil ? Can thy servant taste what I eat or 
what I drink ? Can I hear any more the voice of 
singing men and singing women ? Wherefore, 
then, should thy servant be yet a burden unto my 
Lord the King ? Let thy servant, I pray, turn back 
again, that I may die. 2 Sam. xix, 32, &c. 

Thus too the aged christian can say : '* What is 
the world to me ? I am sick of its vanities, 1 am 
weary of its cares. What are all its grandeurs, its 
riches, its pomps, its pleasures ? These are only 
golden chains, that would prevent me from soar- 
ing to a better world. Why should I, whose body 
IS infirm, whose powers are decaying, whose con- 
nexions are alAiost ail dissolved, and who am con- 
tinually receiving warnings of my mortality, why 
should I still cleave to the world ! Indeed, what 
can there be attracting on earth to one who is eve- 



EXPERIENCE. \S7 

ry day waiting for heaven, and longing to be in the 
presence of God in a better world ?'' Thus the 
christian hears the voice of nature, of providence, 
and of eternity, calling him away. 

But though the christian is in a measure dead to 
the world, yet he can take no complacency in him- 
self. However retired, however calm his last days, 
yet he cannot help remembering his past imper- 
fections Hence v/e may consider self-abasement 
as entering peculiarly into the experience, and 
forming a striking part of the mind and character 
of an aged saint. The retrospect which he takes 
of his past life fills him with shame ; and though 
it has been always his desire to glorify God, and to 
be employed in his service, yet he knows that he 
has done nothing as he ought to do, and is hum- 
bled under a sense of his little fruitfulness. '' It 
resembles the view which a traveller takes from 
some eminence of a barren country through Vv'hich 
he has passed, where the heath and the desert form 
the chief prospect, diversified only by a few scat- 
tered spots of imperfect cultivation." Let us hear 
his confession '' Few and evil have the days of 
the years of my life been. What secret backslid- 
ings have I been guilty of ! How cold have been 
my afil-ctions ! What innumerable mercies have I 
received ; but, alas ! w^hat feeble returns of grati- 
tude ! Wovs' has the v/orld bewildered and deceived 
me 1 and though I have been preserved from the 
ruin to which it endeavoured to draw me, yet how 
often have I been imposed upon by its smiles, in 
w^hat difficulties have I been involved by its cares ! 
How little have I done for God ! How weak my 



i88 THE AGED CHRISTIANAS 

exertions ! Alas ! how few characters have beep 
enlightened by my instructionsj awed by my re- 
proofs, impressed by my conversation, or reform- 
ed by my example 1 How much time has run to 
waste ! How have I been deceived by procrastina- 
tion ! How has old age crept upon me before I can 
say any thing has been done 1 And now 1 begin to 
be incapable of doing much. O, if my life were to 
come over again, methinks how different should it 
be spent as to many things. I am filled with shame 
that so many years have past away, comparatively 
barren and unfruitful.'* Thus the aged christian 
is humbled under a view of his past life ; and 
though there may be a great difference am.ong 
christians as to their devotedness of mind and their 
usefulness in the world, yet they all have to com- 
plain. For where is the man, however enlarged 
his mind, however eminent his piety, however use- 
ful his endeavours, but what must feel some un- 
easiness on reviewing what is past ? Can any aged 
christian, standing on the verge of eternity, look 
back with confidence, and say that be has done 
all that he could^ all that he ought ; that 
there have been no moments of indolence or 
unconcern ; that no evil propensities have ever 
once been indulged ; that he has served God with 
all that spirituality of mind, that ardent zeal, that 
constant attention, that he ought ; that he has dis- 
charged his duty to his fellow creatures with per- 
fect propriety, and that in nothing he could have 
done more than he has ? Alas ! on the contrary, 
the older, the wiser, the holier the christian is, the 
\i\OYQ he is humbled and grieved under a view of 



EXPERIENCE. 189 

himself ; the more, like Job, he is ready to ex- 
claim, Behold I am vile ; I abhor myself. 

Another thing we may distinguish in old age is 
that cool deliberation, wise caution, and just grav- 
ity, not so discernible in the inexperienced. Youth 
is too precipitate, too confident of its own wisdom^ 
too often ready to assume when it should retire ; 
but age is deliberate, wise, and cautious. How 
many sad sights has the aged christian beheld I 
What numbers he has seen ruined by their rash- 
ness ; involving themselves and their connexions 
in the deepest distress by their impatience, their 
precipitate measures, their self-will I He is there- 
fore determined to view things on all sides, to ex- 
amine them in all their bearings. He is cool, pa- 
tient, persevering, knowing by experience how 
much better it is to wait than to be in haste. 
Hence, too, his gravity may be accounted for ;, 
not because he has lost the fire of youth only, but 
he has seen the vanity of all things : he feels the 
consequence of his ow^n errors ; he has witnessed 
a continual scene of vicissitudes. He has beheld 
earthly enjoyments, like the flowers of the field, 
raise their heads, expand their leaves, exhibit their 
bloom, then wither and die. And this, says he, is 
human life. It is only the world above that is 
worth seeking. It is only the joy that arises from 
the hope of the celestial inheritance that is perma- 
nent. I sigh for that blessed abode, while I would 
watch against every thing that would take off mj 
attention from that glorious object. 

We are not to suppose, however, that the aged* 
eliristian is void of pleasure ; that the view h^- 
R 2 



190 THE AGED CHRISTIANAS 

takes of life, however humbling, embitters evepy 
thing to him ; and that his gravity and cool de- 
liberation degenerate into apathy and unthankful- 
ness. On the contrary, he experiences a pleas- '^ 
ure which it is impossible for a young christian to 
possess. What a rich repast does it afford his 
mind to contemplate the dispensations of Divine 
Providence 1 During a course of forty, perhaps 
fifty or sixty years, what wonderful events have 
come to pass ! he has seen the lofty mountain be- 
come a plain ; the most distressing circumstances 
become the occasion of the most abundant joys ; 
the death of one comfort the life of others ; the 
very things which were dreaded as the most for- 
midable evils, overruled for bringing about the 
most extraordinary events. 

And what a peculiar pleasure, also, arises from 
the contemplation of himself 2^^^ being the object of 
the divine care ! He has beheld himself, indeed, 
circumvented in one place, and tried in another. 
Connexions formed that once he had no idea of. 
His habitation fixed in a part of the world he was 
long unacquainted with : strangers becoming 
friends, and friends becoming strangers. Little 
events, so called, leading to those of an important 
nature ; but all under the direction of the Dispos- 
er of all things. With what thankfulness can he 
recollect the evils he has escaped, the comforts he 
has enjoyed, the various times when his wants 
have been supplied, and indeed the kindness of 
Providence on a thousand occasions ! 

The Christian in old age, then, is not destitute 
of joy. Besides the satisfaction which arises from 



EXPERIENCE. 191 

a wide view of a wise Providence, his very state 
and situation often shields him. It is true, his 
infirmities prevent him from relishing many of 
those comforts which once he delighted in ; but 
then, " if he is a stranger to the vivacity of enjoy- 
ment, he is free at the same time from the pain of 
violent and often disappointed desire. Much fa- 
tigue, much vexation, as well as much vanity, at- 
tend that turbulence of life in which the younger 
part of mankind are engaged. Amidst those keen 
pursuits and seeming pleasures for which they 
are envied, they often feel their own misery, and 
look forward with a wishful eye to the season of 
calmness and retreat. If old age throws some new 
distresses into the scale, it lightens, also, the 
weight of others. Many passions, which former- 
ly disturbed his tranquillity, have now subsided. 
Many competitions, which long filled his days 
with disquiet and strife, are now at an end. Many 
afflictions, which once rent his heart with violent 
anguish, are now softened into a tender emotion 
of past wo. In the beginning of life there was 
room for much apprehension concerning w^bat 
might befal in its progress. His hopes were in- 
terrupted by many anxieties and fears. Having 
finished the career of labour and danger, his anxie- 
ty ought, of course, to lessen. Ready to ei.ter 
into the harbour, he can look back, as from a se- 
cure station, upon the perils he has escaped, upon 
the tempest by which he was tossed, and upon the 
multitudes who are still engaged in conflicting with 
the storm/"' 



192 THE AGED CHRISTIANAS 

Lastly, we may consider the aged christian as 
waiting for heaven. He has nearly finished his 
work. His race is almost run. The conflict will 
soon be over. Behold him calmly resigning his 
relatives and friends to the care of Jehovah. His 
eye is fixed on the heavenly mansion. He trusts 
in the merits of the Saviour, and, as he gently pas- 
ses on towards the celestial gate, his heart ascends 
to God in cheerful praises, and with heavenly 
strains he sings, 

" My God, my everlasting hope, 

I live upon thy truth ; 
Thine hands have held my childhood up^ 

And strengthen'd all my youth. 

By long experience have I known 

Thy sov'reign power to save ; 
At thy command I venture down 

Securely to the grave. 

When I lie buried deep in dust. 

My flesh shall be thy care ; 
These with'ring limbs with thee I trust. 

To raise them strong and fair." 

Reader, are you drawing near to an eternal 
world ? Has death begun his work ? Are infirmi- 
ties increasing ? Perhaps you are not among the 
number of those who are thus exercising faith in 
the divine promise ; but, influenced by unbelief, 
and distracted with care, are making your last 
your most gloomy days. But if you are a chris- 
tian, why indulge unnecessary fears ? why add to 
the infirmities of age the pains of anxiety, the 
miseries of impatience ? Remember what abund- 
ant encouragement is held forth for the support 



EXPERIENCE. 195 

of declining age. That gracious God, who has 
adapted his sacred word for every state and con- 
dition of life, hath not forgotten those who feel the 
sorrows of an infirm body, and are on the confines 
of the grave and an eternal world. How cheer- 
ing, how appropriate, are his promises to such ! 
*' Even to your old age I am he, and even to hoar 
Jiairs will I carry you : I have made, and I will 
bear ; even I will carry and will deliver you/* 
Is. xlvi. 4. " Thou shalt come to thy grave in 
a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his 
season." Job v. 26. " Those that be planted in 
the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts 
of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in 
old age ; they shall be fat and flourishing.'* 
Pse xcii. 13, 14. Learn to trust, therefore, in 
kim who can alleviate every pain -, whose pres- 
ence and promise can bear you up, when every 
thing else is receding from you. Be not ashamed 
now to distrust him whom you have always found 
faithful. Let the wicked be anxious, and 
careful, and miserable m this declining season ; 
but you, who have a God, a promise, a guide, a 
Saviour, you should never despond. 

Consider how soon you will be in heaven. It 
is but a short step you have to take. A few mo- 
ments, and the clock will strike your last hour. 
A solemn hour, indeed ; but an hour above all 
others the most delightful to you ; an hour in 
which you shall put off the shackles of mortality ; 
the hour in which you shall bid adieu forever to 
all the pains and sins, temptations and sorrows, 
with which you have so long conflicted. For this 



194 THE AGED CHRISTIAN'S 

happy hour, aged christian, wait with tranquillity* 
It is fast advancing : it will surely come. Let 
your heart rejoice in the thought of its arrival. 
Look up to heaven, that you may catch a beam of 
celestial glory ; that your countenance may yet 
shine ; and, like a faithful servant, listening with 
eager attention to hear that voice which will short- 
ly say, " Come up hither, and sit down with me on 
my throne." 

While, however, it is the divine Will you 
should be continued here, be ever anxious to 
set a good example. How many look up to you ! 
How many watch your temper, and observe your 
conduct I " Tlie aged," says the apostle, '^ should 
be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in char- 
ity, and in patience." Titus ii. 2, Be faithful to 
your post. Watch against the evils attendant on 
old age. You know the truth ; you have long ex- 
perienced its power. The day is now nearly gone, 
the evening is at hand : let the sun go down in ils 
glory, and, like that luminary, irradiating sur- 
rounding objects, and reflecting its splendour even 
when itself is no longer visible to the naked eye. 
So shall many rejoice in your light, and give 
thanks to the Father of Mercies that you have been 
enabled to adorn his gospel, and at last to die in 
his service. 

Let young christians learn to revere the aged. 
There is always something venerable in age ; but 
there is something beautiful in it, when it is adorn- 
ed with the christian graces. " It is, indeed, in- 
finitely better to be full of grace than full of days ; 
but to be full of days and full of grace, what a ven- 



EXPERIENCE. 195 

crable spectacle ! To be full of years and full of 
faith, full of good works, full of the fruits of right- 
eousness which are by Christ, how comely and 
beautiful 1" Draw near, young christians, to these 
venerable characters. Sit down at their feet ; light 
your little taper from their flaming torch : ask 
them the way they have come. Respect their re- 
port, listen to their declarations ; so shall you ob- 
tain wisdom from their instruction, prudence from 
their advice, and gather a thousand fresh motives 
to go forward in the heavenly path. Remember, 
too, ever to treat them with tenderness, bear with 
their infirmities, request their prayers ; soften as 
much as possible every care, that they may go 
down to the grave undisturbed ; and bless God in 
beholding others coming forward to supply the 
places of those whom age has palsied, or death has 
snatched av/ay. 

My dear reader, do you wish to be happy in old 
age ? Then learn tobe wise while young. To give 
the first fruits of our time to the god of this world, 
and the dregs of our lives to the God of heaven, 
what an insult ! No wonder the old age of some is 
so dreadfully embittered, when they have spent all 
their lives in a course of rebellion. Learn, then, 
to give up yourselves immediately to God, and 
think not of foolishly procrastinating till old age 
comes upon you There are very few instances of 
aged sinners being reformed. Vice hardens ; the 
commission of every sin is like forging a fresh 
chain to bind the soul in misery. It is adding 
strength to corrupt nature, and exposing to the 
greatest danger. The very thought of this should 



196 THE ACtED christian's, &C. 

make every man tremble who thinks the care of 
his soul necessary, and yet is for deferring it to 
the last part of life. But supposing remission 
of sins and repentance to be granted at last, how 
miserable to reflect on the evils committed, the 
long train of painful consequences that have follow- 
ed, and which, perhaps, can never be remedied — 
no, not in eternity ! O how awful to think that I, 
by a sinful example, have been the occasion of the 
everlasting ruin of a son, a daughter, a servant, a 
neighbour ! What feelings must I have, what 
tears must I shed, and what an awful gloom will 
be cast over old age ! Let me entreat my dear 
reader, if he be still unacquainted v/ith divine 
things, no longer to indulge the thought of delay. 
It is religion alone that can make old age pleasant, 
and death welcome. Holy Spirit, penetrate the 
hearts of the unconcerned. May they seek thee 
while thou art to be found. Shew them their mis- 
ery and sinfulness. Lead them to the Saviour of 
sinners ! On him may they now rest, and, when 
the declining days of life shall come, may they go 
down with peace to the grave, and be forever with 
the Lord ! Amen. 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 197 



CHAP. X 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 



DEATH, considered in any light, is a very 
solemn and awful scene ; but it is peculiarly so as 
it respects the wicked : such are said to be driv- 
en away in their wickedness. They do not de- 
scend willingly to the grave. They would be hap- 
py always to exist in the present state ; they pos- 
sess no regard for a Superior Being, and therefore 
a future state of heavenly felicity makes little or 
no impression on their minds. All their happi- 
ness is confined to the present world ; they are 
therefore driven^ or, as it is said, " chased out of 
the world." Job xviii. 18. And what is still worse, 
they are driven away not only in a hofielesa but a 
sinful state. Who can contemplate the sad scene 
without horror ; who can bear to witness it with- 
out feelings of a nature inexpressible ! How awful 
to behold in his very countenance every thing that 
indicates guilt and misery. To hear his groans 
and prayers, that his wretched life may be protract- 
ed yet a little longer. To witness his whole frame 
convulsed, his features changing, his lips quiver* 
ing, his mind overwhelmed with despair. Ah ! 
S 



198 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

*« How shocking must thy summons be, O Death, 
To him that is at ease in his possessions ; 
Who, counting" on long years of pleasure here. 
Is quite unfurnish'd for the world to come ! 

In that dread moment, how the frantic soul 
Raves round the wall of her clay tenement, 
Runs to each avenue, and shrieks for help. 
But shrieks in vain ! How^ wishfully she looks 
On all she's leaving, now no longer hers ! 
A little longer, yet a little longer : 
Mournful sight ! 
Her eyes weep blood, and every groan 
She heaves is big with horror. — But the foe. 
Like a staunch murderer, steady to his purpose, 
Pursues her close through every lane of life. 
Nor misses once the track, but presses on ; 
Till, forc'd at last to the tremendous vei'ge. 
At once she sinks to everlasting ruin ! Blair. 

But what a different scene do' we behold in the 
death of the righteous character I '^ Mark the 
perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end 
of that man is peace." Ps. xxxvii. 37. Death 
has no. terrors for him : his sins are pardoned ; 
his guilt is removed. No bitter reflections on his 
past conduct. No anxiety to return, and prolong 
his existence in the present world. No fearful 
looking for of the day of wrath and punishment. 
Not that the righteous all depart with the same 
feelings. The joys of some are not so high as 
others ; yea, some expire with but a small degree 
of confidence and joy ; but this is not the case in 
general. Few but can say, when the moment ac- 
tually arrives, '' O death, where is thy sting ? O 
grave, where is thy victory ?" 1 Cor. xv. 54. 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 199 

Indeed, from the great felicity many good men 
enjoy at death, it seems, as a good writer observes, 
'* as if the weakness of the bodily frame gave oc- 
casion to the awakening of some faculty, till then 
dormant in the soul, by which invisibles are not 
only believed, but seen, and unutterables are heard 
and understood/' In order, however, that w^e may 
see how peculiarly welcome it is to the righteous, 
let us consider the scriptural account of it. 

It is called a departure, " The time of my de- 
parture is at hand.'' 2 Tim. iv. 7. " Having a 
desire to depart, and to be with Christ.'* Phil. i. 
23. He is not violently torn or driven away in a 
storm, as the wicked ; but he departs as one that 
is set at liberty from his chains. The present 
world is a state of confinement, when compared 
to the heavenly world ; the soul is here lodged in 
the body as in a contracted prison. Her powers 
are cramped, her exertions are fettered, her pros- 
pects are bounded. But death unlocks the gate, 
destroys the chains, and says to the prisoner, Go 
forth ; enjoy your liberty ; depart to yonder ce- 
lestial mansion. What an idea does this give us 
of the happiness of a believer at the hour of death ! 
Here, alas I the chain confines and galls. We 
feel the sad effects of being immured in a prison 
where dwells so much darkness and depravity. 
Fain w^ould the soul leap out, and fly ! but what 
powerful hinderances, what sad restraints i When 
death however arrives, liberty is proclaimed, and a 
departure is announced to a land where we shall 
no more be reduced to captivity ; where no ene- 
my will oppose, no chain be worn forever. 



200 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

When good men die, they depart as travellers 
to a better country, or as from an inn to their home. 
That is truly a happy land where knowledge is 
diffused, peace enjoyed, sociality indulged, health 
promoted, property secured, and persons protect- 
ed. Such a country is heaven, and to depart for 
such a state must be pleasant and delightful. This, 
too, is his home : he is not going to a place where 
he will be a stranger, where it will be uncertain 
whether he shall be received. It is the kingdom 
of his Father, where every thing is provided for 
his happiness. It is to his own inheritance, pur- 
chased and bestowed on him as a free gift by Jesus, 
his elder brother ! Who then feels distress, 
who laments, who can be unhappy at the thought 
of a departure from a temporary accommodation, 
w^here the storm is so often felt, to that glorious 
state where majesty and splendour indeed dwells 
but where love and joy forever reign P 

The departure of a believer is the departure of 
the mariner from a distant country to his desired 
haven. He quits the shores of time to launch in- 
to eternity. He has been at a distance from his 
own land, but how willingly he leaves all to 
meet his happy connexions, to breathe his native 
air, to taste the fruit of that delightful soil where 
all is fertile and rich ; and, O pleasing thought ! 
to return no more, but forever to be secured from 
the wasting storm and the dangerous rocks of this 
evil world ! 

Death to a good man is called a dissolving of the 
body. " For w^e know," saith the apostle, " that 
if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dis- 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 201 

solved, we have a building of God ; an house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 2 Cor. v. 
1. He considers it only as the taking down of 
the human frame, to be built on a diviner plan. 
He does not approach the grave, as the infidel or 
the sceptic, uncertain what will become of him ; 
whether his body shall mingle with the dust, or 
whether it will be raised again. He believes every 
atom will be preserved, and, though scattered in a 
thousand directions, that all shall be collected by 
the great power of Him who first created him. 
He has no melancholy ideas of annihilation ; he 
wavers not in dark uncertainty ; now hoping, then 
fearing ; now trembling, then presuming ; now 
wishing, then sinking again into the dark gloom 
of uncertainty. No ; these are not the views, the 
feelings, the scenes attendant on the dying bed of 
the righteous. He justly considers his body as 
a tabernacle, a temporary building, that must be 
taken down at the will of his Creator. He sub- 
mits to its dissolution. He sees ane pin taken out^ 
then another ; this part falling, that decaying ; 
but all this he beholds without dismay. He knows 
there is a building of God eternal in the heavens,, 
and cherishes the sweet hope of body and soul bet- 
ing again united to part no more. 

Farther ; the death of the righteous is com-^ 
pared to rest. " He shall enter into peace ; they 
shall rest m their beds." Is. Ivii. 2. Blessed 
are the dead who die in the Lard ? they shall rest 
from their labours, and their works do follow them. 
ReT> xiv. 13. There the wicked cease from 
S. 2 



202 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

troubling, there the weary be at rest. Job iii. 17. 
With what pleasure must a good man contemplate 
the hour when he is called to put off the armour, 
to lay aside the buckler, the shield, and the helmet 
forever ! Here the conflict is often both long and 
painful. Every step is contested. His heart at 
times sinks within him for fear. He feels his 
weakness, and trembles lest he should be suffered 
to desert the great Captain of his salvation. But 
when death arrives, with what joy is he inspired 
at the thought of being no more exposed to dan- 
ger 1 Now, says he, I have done ; the battle is 
over, the victory is won. No more shall I feel 
the fiery darts of Satan ; no more shall I be sub- 
ject to the attacks of an evil world ; no more to 
be deceived by a depraved heart. I shall now dt 
down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in th€ king- 
dom of heaven. 

Again ; the death of the righteous is repre- 
sented in the sacred scriptures under the idea of 
sleep. " I would not have you to be ignorant, 
brethren, concerning them which are asleep ; that 
ye sorrow not even as others, which have no hope. 
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them which sleep in Jesus will God 
bring with him." Thess. iv. 13, 14. So of Ste- 
phen it is said, notwithstanding he was stoned to 
death, that he fell sleep. Acts vii. 60. What 
a pleasing idea does this afford us of the death of 
a believer ! Who, after labour and conflict, danger 
and toil, trouble and opposition, fears sleep? What 
more desirable, what more refreshing ? How it 
strengthens the body, how it relieves the mind I 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 203 

Thus a good man lies down, and forgets all his 
toils. Now his sorrows, his pains terminate for- 
ever. Now the troubles of the day are done with. 
Now the conflict ceases, no more to return. 
Let it be remembered, too, that it is not in the 
house of an enemy, a place of danger, where he 
reposes. He " sleeps in Jesus,'* saith the apostle. 
Happy situation ! lovely security ! Where can an 
immortal spirit rest better ? Blessed Redeemer ! 
who can be afraid of falling into thine arms ? Who 
fears to sleep under thy protection ? If death be 
no more than this, then happy are thy servants 
when called away from this vale of tears. If this 
be the privilege peculiar to thine, then. Lord, let 
me die the death of the righteous, and let my last 
end be like his. 

To confirm the ideas above suggested relative 
to the dying experience of the righteous, let us 
now advert to some few examples in which we 
shall see these remarks exemplified. Behold the 
patriarch Jacob drawing near to the gates of death. 
With what composure he exclaims, " I die ! but 
God shall be with you. I have waited for thy 
salvation, O Lord !" His sons gather round him ; 
he blesses them. He talks of death without fear, 
he beholds its approach without alarm. He wil- 
liij; ly resigns his spirit, gathers up his feet inta 
the bed, and expires. Gen. xlix. 33. 

Behold Moses, in his latter end, triumphing in 
God, and bearing a noble testimony to his provi- 
dence and grace. " Give ear, O ye heavens, and 
I will speak ; and hear, O earth, the words of my 
mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my 



204 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain 
upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon 
the grass : Because I will publish the name of the 
Lord ; ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is 
the rock ; his work is perfect, for all his ways are 
judgment. A God of truth, and without iniquity : 
just and right is he." Deut. xxxii. 1, &c. To 
die with a mind impressed with such noble senti- 
ments as these, is to die happy. 

See a Joshua. How calmly he speaks of his own 
death ! but with what energy he dwells on the 
good providence of God to him and the people I 
" Behold this day I am going the way of ail the 
earth, and ye know in all your hearts, and in all 
your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the 
good things which the Lord your God spake con- 
cerning you : all are come to pass unto you, and 
not one thing hath failed thereof." Joshua xxiii. 
14. Glorious testimony of a dying saint ! 

Witness a David. " Although my house be not 
so with God, yet he hath made with me an ever- 
lasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure ; 
for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, al- 
though he make it not to grow-" 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 
His views of death we may easily coHect from 
his own words. " Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff, 
they comfort me." Ps. xxiii. 4. As if he had 
said, " It is death indeed that is before me ; but it 
is but the shadow of death : there is no substantial 
evil in it ; the shadow of a serpent will not sting, 
nor the shadow of a sword kill.-— It is the valley oC 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 205 

the shadow ; deep indeed, and dark : but the Tal- 
lies are fruitful, and so is death itself fruitful of 
comforts to God's people. — It is but a walk in this 
valley, a gentle pleasant walk. The wicked are 
chased out of the world, and their souls are requir- 
ed ; but the saints take a walk to another world as 
cheerfully as they take their leave of this. It is a 
walk through it ; I shall not be lost in the valley, 
but arrive safe at my desired abode." [See Henry 
on Ps. xxiii. 4.] 

Behold a Simeon : he had long been waiting for 
the Consolation of Israel. At last he appears. 
The good old man takes the babe in his arms, and 
with ecstacy prays, " Lord, now lettest thou thy 
servant depart in peace, according to thy word. 
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Luke 
ii. 28— .30. Life to him was no longer desirable, 
and death appeared as a welcome messenger, now 
he had been favoured with the presence of the 
Saviour. 

Nothing can exceed the holy joy and trium- 
phant language of the great apostle Paul in the 
view of death and an eternal world. " I know 
whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he 
is able to keep that which I have committed unto 
him against that day. I am ready not to be bound 
only, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of 
the Lord Jesus. ^I am now ready to be offered, 
and the time of my departure is at hand. I have 
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day : 



206 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

and not to me only, but unto all them that love his 
appearing." 2 Tim. i. 12. Acts xxi, 13, Tim. iv. 
6, 7, 8. Happy apostle ! how little terrific must 
death have been in thy view, and how unimportant 
the passing scenes of this world, when compared 
with the glorious objects of that to come ! 

Behold a Peter, " I think it meet, as long as I 
am in this tabernacle, to stir you up, by j)utting 
you in remembrance : Knowing that shortly I 
must put off this my tabernacle, even as our 
Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me." 2 Pet. i. 
13. 14, 15. Death appeared no more to him than 
putting off his raiment, and laying down to rest. 
He knew he had not followed a cunningly devised 
fable ; but that after death there was an inherit- 
ance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away, to be enjoyed by him, and all that iove the 
Xord Jesus Christ in sincerity. 

Such was the hope, such the prospect, of these 
illustrious characters. And to them what a long 
list might be added of primitive christians, of 
martyrs, of noble confessors, who died in the faith ; 
who indeed considered themselves as strangers 
and pilgrims here ; who desired, and at last en- 
joyed, a better country ! 

But lest any should imagine that such happy 
, experience belonged only to those characters 
whom God raised up in early times for arduous 
and important work, and, being inspired of God, 
naturally enjoyed more than others when living, 
and was more supported in their dying moments, 
let us come down to later times, and we shall find 
that the same grace was exemplified in the sol- 
emn hour of dissolution. 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 207 

Mr. Halyburton, when dying, thus addressed 
those around him. " Here is a demonstration of 
the reality and power of faith and godliness. I, 
a poor weak and timorous man, once as much a- 
fraid of death as any one ; I, who was many years 
under the terrors of death, come in the mercy of 
God, and by the power of his grace, composedly 
and with joy to look death in the face. I have 
seen it in its paleness, and all the circumstances of 
horror that attend it. I dare look it in the face in 
its most ghastly shape, and hope to have in a little 
time the victory over it. Glory, glory to him ! 

what of God do I see ! I have never seen any 
thing like it ! The beginning and end of religion 
are wonderfully sweet ! I long for his salvation, 

1 bless his name ! I have found him ! I am taken 
up in blessing him ! I am dying : rejoichig in the 
Lord ! O, I could not have believed that I should 
bear, and bear cheerfully as I have done, this rod, 
w^hich hath lain on me so long. This is a mira- 
cle. Pain without pain ! You see a man dying a 
monument of the glorious power of astonishing 
grace 1" Some time after he said, ^* When I shall 
be so weakened as not to be able to speak, I will 
give you, if I can, a sign of triumph when I am 
near to glory." This he did ! for when one said, 
" I hope you are encouraging yourself in the 
Lord," not being able to speak, he lifted up his 
hands, clapped them, and quickly after expired. 

When Mr. Henry was dying, he said to a friend, 
« You have been used to take notice of the sayings 
of dying rnen ; this is mine : '' that a life spent in 
the service of God and communion with him is the 



208 BYING EXPERIENCE. 

most comfortable and pleasant life that any one can 
live in this world." 

Dr. Evans in his last moments said, '' All is well. 
All is well '^ 

Dr. Watts said, " 1 bless God, I can lie down 
with comfort at night, unsolicitous whether I a- 
wake in this world or another." 

" I am full of confidence,'* said Dr. Doddridge; 
" there is a hope set before me : I have fled ; I 
still fly for refuge to that hope. In him I trust. In 
him I have strong consolation, and shall assuredly 
be accepted in the beloved of my soul." 

" Do not think," said Mr. Hervey, " that I am 
afraid to die ! I assure you, I am not. I know 
what my Saviour hath done for me ; and I want to 
be gone. But I wonder and lament to think of the 
love of Christ in doing so much for me, and how 
little I have done for him." A little before his 
death, he said, " The great conflict is over ! Now 
all is done !" 

Dr. Gill said, " 1 have nothing to make me un- 
easy." And his last words were, " O my Father I 
my Father 1" 

" It will not be long," said Mr. Toplady, " be- 
fore God takes me ; for no mortal man can live 
(bursting into tears) after the glories which God 
has manifested to my soul." 

Mr. Ryiand cried out, " Happy, happy, happy ! 
O what ease of body ! O what ease of soul !" 

Mr. Brewer said, " O what a world am I going 
to 1 Here all is sin, and all is sorrow, but there, ev- 
erlasting joy. Jesus is standing to receive my 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 20^ 

spirit. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is 
the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." 

These are testimonies from public characters ; 
but what multitudes of private christians have ex- 
perienced the same support ! " You will excuse 
my saying much," said a good man whom I visit- 
ed in a dying hour, " but I declare, before God, 
he is my delight, he is my all. It is done : re- 
joice with me It is done. This left arm is dead ; 
but I am not alarmed ; I am not alarmed. I am 
no more afraid of death than an infant just come 
into the world. I have no doubt but my name is 
written in the book of life. Hasten it. Lord. Cut 
short thy work if it be according to thy will. Tell 
others when I cannot — 'Uot that I want to have my 
name on a pillar, but for the good of others- 
Praise ! Praise 1 Praise I" 

It would be easy to enlarge this list ; but the 
reader may consult the obituaries in our religious 
and periodical pubHcations, for pleasing accounts 
of this kind. We shall only just stop to ask, 
whether the death beds of infidels and the profane 
can produce any thing like this ? Instances, indeed, 
of apathy and awful unconcern are numerous ; 
but is it not to the sacred religion of Jesus that we 
are indebted for the bright scenes, the manly forti- 
tude, the holy joys we often witness in a dying 
hour ? 

But it is "natural for us to inquire into the causes 
of such a happy experience. What prospect is 
there afforded by Christianity that makes death 
so welcome ? What real grounds have christians 
for rejoicing in this hour ? And first we observej 

T 



210 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

it is a matter of the highest joy that they are leav- 
ing a world where there is so much depravity, for 
a world where all is perfection and holiness. Of 
all the sources of grief to a good man, none equal 
to that of sine It is this which often breaks his 
peace, interrupts him in duty, and is a barrier to 
his intercourse with God. Wherever he goes, in 
whatever situation he is fixed, or whatever chang- 
es take place as to other things, his imperfect and 
sinful nature still remains. He cannot divest him- 
self of this ; and what is still more painful, his 
corruptions break out again, after, perhaps, he 
thought they were ne ?Iy subdued. Death, there- 
fore, becomes very desirable to terminate a con- 
flict which is so distressing. To get rid of an en- 
emy which is always assaulting us, must be no 
small joy. The thought of sinning no more, is 
delip^htful to a good man. If he could live in the 
present state but for a year, a month, a day, an 
hour, without sin, it would be his highest joy. 
With what willingness, then, can he meet death, 
which will remove him from every occasion of sin ; 
which will deliver him from every temptation, ev- 
ery corruption, and introduce him to a world 
where holiness and happiness perpetually dwell ! 

Again ; the christian rejoices at the thought of 
death, because he leaves all his troubles. A wick- 
ed man may well tremble at death, because it is 
comparatively the beginning of his sorrows ; but 
the righteous, on the contrary, may rejoice, as it 
is the beginning of his joys It is true, that even 
in the present state, his happiness has sometimes 
been great ; but permanent joy is reserved for a- 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 211 

tiother world. With what pleasure may he look 
forward, and say, " Soon I shall have done with all 
the troubles of life. No more doubts and fears. 
No dark and cloudy days. No more weary 
steps and painful conflicts. Here how sudden, how 
numerous, the vicissitudes of life ! One difficulty 
succeeds another. No dependence to be placed 
on earthly good. The best frames soon change, 
and the greatest trials attend the greatest comforts. 
But a little while, and I shall be delivered from 
all. There is a glory to be revealed. God will 
wipe away all tears from mine eyes, and there shall 
be no more curse, no more death ; neither sor- 
row nor crying; neither shall there be any more 
pain : the days of my mourning shall be ended, 
and my God shall be my glory forever and ever.'* 
Rev. xxii. 4, 5. 

But is not death in itself awful and terrific ? 
And are not believers men of the same feelings, 
the same fears as others ? Truly so, as it respects 
themselves ; but the terror of death is in a great 
degree removed, as they have the promise of a safe 
guide through the dark valley. Angels are sent 
forth to minister to them who are the heirs of sal- 
vation. " These encamp about them in the time 
of their life, and surely they will not leave them 
in the day of their death." But the Lord of an- 
gels has promised to be with them in that trying 
moment. " I will never leave thee,*' is the kind 
declaration made to every saint. He who does not 
leave them in their common troubles, will not 
leave them now, when every thing around them is 
incapable of affording them support. With what 



212 l>tING EXPERIENCE. 

composure, therefore, may they leave themselves 
in his hands, and trust to his goodness and power 
to bring them safe through! Yes, christian, you 
may say, without presumption, with the poet, 

" Though I walk thro' the gloomy vale 

Where death and all its terrors are. 
My heart and hope shall never fail, 

For God my Shepherd*s with me there." 

WATTS. 

Besides, they are going home to their best 
friend. The child is not afraid of being sent for 
from school to his parents ; and death is but 
God's servant, which he sends to invite his chii^ 
dren home. No wonder the christian rejoices at 
the thought of going where his Father dwells, 
where his brethren are, and where he shall enjoy 
perfect liberty, holy familiarity, and endless pleas- 
ure. " In my Father's house are many man^ 
sions," says our Lord ; " if it were not so, I 
would have told you ; I go to prepare a place for 
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I 
will come again, and receive you unto myself, that 
where I am there ye may be also." John xiv. 
2, 3. With a firm belief in these delightful dec- 
larations, with what joy can a christian leave the 
world, especially when he considers that he is not 
merely to be admitted^ but received to glory ; 
received with the acclamations of the heavenly 
hosts ; received by Christ with the highest joy 
and the strongest love ; received into the presence 
of Him whose favour constitutes the glory and hap- 
piness of the celestial worW. 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 21S 

But what, above all, affords a ground of rejoic- 
ing, is, that the felicity of the heavenly kingdom is 
never to end. " The Lord himself shall descend 
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump of God ; and the 
dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which 
are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together 
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the 
air, and so shall ive ever be with the Lord^ 1 Thes. 
iv. 16, 17. There shall be no night there, and thejr 
need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the 
Lord God giveth them light ; and they shall reign 
forever and ever. Rev. xxii. 5. What delightful 
prospects do these scriptures afford us of a future 
state ! Here we are sometimes interrupted in the 
midst of our joys by the recollection that they are 
so short lived. A succession of hopes and fears^ 
of pains and pleasures, attend us in this mortal 
state. However calm the present moment, we 
must prepare for the storm. However happy, we 
must remember we are still in the wilderness, sub- 
ject to innumerable changes and perpetual trials j. 
but how consoling for the christian to reflect that 
he is travelling to a better country, whence he 
shall not return, where he shall go no more out t 
What terrors then can death have for the mar^ 
whose hopes centre in that glory which shall never 
fade ? What happiness in the thought, that every^ 
moment brings him nearer to that bright abode 
where he shall forever enjoy the divine presence 1 
An eternity of happiness I How little must everj 
thing appear in this world, when contrasted with 
this I How insignificant all the trials of the waj;^ 

T 2 



3^14 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

when we consider the felicity of the end ! How 
welcome death to introduce us to the grand scene ! 
How bright the christian appears as he draws near- 
er to it ! What a majesty in his death 1 What a 
glory in his hope ! " As the rivers roll the smooth- 
est the nearer they approach the ocean, as the rose 
smells the sweetest when dying, as the sun ap- 
pears most glorious when setting, so it is with the 
christian." Hear his expiring language ! Fare- 
well all terrestrial scenes ! I know that my Re- 
deemer liveth. What a happy change ! Earth for 
heaven, time for eternity, conflict for victory, sor- 
row for uninterrupted joy ! Into thy hands, O im- 
mortal Saviour, I commit my spirit. Thine it is 
to conduct me through the valley ; thine to raise to 
glory ; and thine to crown me with eternal joy. 
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Even so come. 
Lord Jesus ! Amen. 5 

Thus we see what grounds the christian has for 
rejoicing at the thought of dissolution. It may be 
objected, that however good these grounds, yet 
many even of the righteous die without any re- 
markable sensation of joy ; yea, some die in dark- 
ness and fear, others die suddenly, without leaving 
a verbal testimony. This certainly must be grant- 
ed. But let not the weak christian be discourag- 
ed on this account. Some, it is true, are said to 
be saved so as by fire ; and some are saved who 
have remained in a doubting state almost to the 
last ; but I believe these will be found to be but 
few, compared with the generality. God has, 
indeed, suffered some of his most useful and most 
eminent servants to depart without any great evi- 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 215 

elences of triumph and joy ; but this is wisely per- 
mitted, for were such always to die in triumph, 
then the weak and fearful would be ready to des- 
pond, and imagine, perhaps, that they were not 
the objects of divine love, because they are not fa- 
voured with high joys in that trying hour. It is 
also good to remember that our frames do not 
affect our state. The salvation of the soul may 
be secure ; but the joys of that salvation may, for 
wise reasons, be suspended. We may die safe, 
though we may not die happy. There are many 
things that may press hard on the mind even of a 
good man at that season. The thoughts of his 
family, separation from dear and intimate friends, 
the recollection of besetting sins, spiritual sloth 
and decay, the awfulness of eternity, the pains of 
death, natural timidity ; some or all of these may 
affect the mind to a great degree ; but, notwith- 
standing, 1 believe it is generally found that be- 
lievers are wonderfully supported in the hour of 
death. In the course of my ministry, and the vis- 
its I have paid to dying beds for several years, I 
have found but few who were truly serious, but 
what, if they had not all a high degree of joy, yet 
were resigned to the will of God, bearing testimony 
to his goodness, in fulfilling his word, and being 
with them even to the end. It is, hov; ^ver, at all 
times, a diff'erent scene from the death of the 
wicked. They die trembling, in awful suspense 
and dark uncertainty, or presuming that all will 
be well, while their hearts are still hardened in 
sin ; but the righteous depart in peace, and often 
in triumph and ecstacy, with a hope full of immor- 
tulity and joy 1 



216 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

And now, my dear reader, do you wish to die 
comfortably ? Then live circumspectly. Not that 
this can merit heaven ; but a worldly, careless, 
lukewarm spirit is not a proper frame to die in. 
" Let it be your constant care,'' says Mr. Boston, 
" to keep a clean conscience, a conscience void 
of offence toward God and man. Acts xxiv. 16. 
Beware of a standing controversy betwixt God and 
you, on account of some iniquity regarded in the 
heart. When an honest man is about to leave his 
country, and not to return, he settles accounts with 
those he had dealings with; and lays down meth- 
ods for paying his debts in time, lest he be rec- 
koned a bankrupt, and be attacked by an officer 
when he is going off. Guilt lying on the con- 
science is a fountain of fears, and will sting severe- 
ly when death stares the criminal in the face. 
Hence it is that many of God's children, when dy- 
ing, are made to wish passionately and desire ea- 
gerly that they may live to do what they ought to 
have done before that time. Wherefore walk 
closely with God, be diligent, strict and exact in 
your course ; beware of a loose, careless, and ir- 
regular conversation, as ye would not lay up for 
yourselves anguish and bitterness of spirit in a dy- 
ing hour. And because, through the infirmity 
cleaving to us in our present state of imperfection, 
in many things we offend all, renew your repent- 
ance daily, and be ever washing in the Redeemer's 
blood. As long as ye are in the world, ye will 
need to wash your feet, John xiii. 10. that is, to 
make applieauon lo the blood of Christ anew, for 
purging your consciences from the guilt of daily 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 217 

miscarriages. Let death find you at the fountain, 
and, if so, it will find you ready to answer its 
call/' 

Believer, wait patiently. " All the days of my 
appointed time," says Job, " will I wait till my 
change come." Stand at your post till God calls 
you ; for " it is good that a man should both hope 
and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." 
Lam. iii. 26. A few more storms, a few more 
dark and cloudy days, and you shall enjoy the rest 
that remaineth for the people of God. It is but 
a little while, and you shall lay aside the helmet 
for the crown, the garments in which you sustain 
the conflict for the white robe, and the sword for 
the palms of victory I The enemy shall no more 
be seen ; for the ransomed of the Lord shall re- 
turn, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting 
joys upon their heads : they shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 

Is. XXXV. 10. 

While, however, you exercise patience, vjatch 
constantly. Be like unto men that wait for their 
Lord, that, when he cometh and knocketh, you 
may open to him immediately. Luke xxi. 36, 
Remember you are still in an enemy's land, and 
that no past experience, no long standing in the 
church, no exemptions which you have hither- 
to had from pubhc falls, can insure you in time to 
come without divine grace. Many have carried it 
well till nearly the last, when one unguarded mo- 
ment, one imprudent step, has been the occasion 
of much grief, and caused them to descend to the 
grave in sorrow. Watch, therefore, to the end. 



218 DYING EXPERIENCE. 

The enemy, perhaps, will be more artful, more 
violent, more anxious to injure you, in proportion 
as you draw nearer to your home, where he knows 
you will be beyond his reach. Sit loose to the 
world. Remember you are a pilgrim, and there- 
fore you are not to be onlxj looking^ but goi7ig for- 
ward. Watch against every thing which would 
detail! you by the way. Take leave of all sub- 
lunary objects, and thus, forgetting the things 
that are behind, press forward tow^ards the mark 
for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. 
Phil. iii. 14. 

And now, reader, let me ask, have you reason 
to believe that you are travelling to this better 
country ? No doubt you wish to die happy ; but 
remember, this cannot be the case while sin is un- 
repented of. The life of a wicked man is often a 
life of gaiety, thoughtlessness, and presumption ; 
but his death is an awful scene of horror and mise- 
ry. No light from heaven irradiates his dying 
moments. It is all thick darkness, for there is no 
peace, saith my God, to the wicked. To die in 
poverty without friends, without attendants, all sol- 
itary, without any kind aid to wipe off the cold 
sweat that bedews the face, without any affection- 
ate help to alleviate pain, or sympathise with mis- 
ery, is considered as a grievous and deplorable 
state ; but, alas ! what is this ? This is but of lit- 
tle consequence, when compared to the state of 
him who dies without God, without an interest in 
him who alone is able to save. Reader, examine 
thine own heart. Remember how short thy time 
is. A little longer, and thy body will be in the 



DYING EXPERIENCE. 219 

grave, and thy soul where shall I say ? In heav- 
en ? No, if thou diest without repentance ! On 
earth ? No. But in the dark abodes of eternal de- 
spair. For the wicked shall be turned into hell, 
and all the nations that forget God. Ps. ix. 17, — 
Arise, therefore ; cry for mercy ! The door is not 
shut. Now is the day of salvation ! Flee to the 
refuge set before thee. Behold a Saviour ! He is 
willing to receive, willing to pardon, willing to 
bless. Btlieve in him, and thou shall be saved ; 
but if thou reject him, thou art undone forever ! 



220 ADVICE RESPECTING 



CHAP. XI. 



ADVICE RESPECTING EXPERIENCE. 

RELIGION, like every thing else that is valu- 
able, has its counterfeit. There are errors nearly 
resembling the truth, doctrines that are apparently 
deduced from the sacred scriptures, but which are 
in reality the doctrines of devils ; precepts which 
some would have us believe to be of God, but 
which, in fact, are only the inventions of men. So 
likewise there may be an experience, so called, 
which pretends to be of a divine and gracious kind, 
but which, when properly investigated, will be 
found to savour not of God, but of corrupt nature. 
It is, then, of importance that we examine our- 
selves, lest we should be deceived ; and " that we 
should see the difference between the holy and the 
profane, and discern between the unclean and the 
clean/' Ezek. xliv 23. We are commanded, al- 
so, to prove all things, and to hold fast that which 
is good. 1 Thess. v. 24. It is my intention, 
therefore, in this chapter, to give some advice re- 
specting this important subject ; premising how- 
ever, that nothing is intended to discourage the 
weak, or reflect upon the ignorant, but rather to 



EXPERIENCE. 221. 

expose the hypocrite, and detect the enthusiast, 
whose conduct and spirit so often grieve and in- 
jure the minds of the truly serious. 

1st Advice. Endeavour to distiiigwsh between 
counterfeit and genuine experience , A false expe- 
rience may arise from several causes. Some have 
substituted the reveries of their own imagination 
for gracious experience. They have talked of ex- 
traordinary impressions and revelations ; they 
have imagined, because they have comfortable 
frames, that their sins were pardoned, and have been 
confident they should go to heaven, while at the 
same time there has been little or no proof of their 
ever having been made new creatures in Christ 
Jesus. We know, also, how busy Satan is in de- 
ceiving mankind. By his insinuations he can 
make men believe that they are real christians, 
when they are not. He can make presumption ap- 
pear as strong faith, forwardness as zeal, or the fear 
of man as prudence. He cares not for men mak- 
ing a profession, attending a place of worship, or 
even confessing their sins, as long as they do not 
forsake them. They may talk of religion, believe 
in some of its doctrines, and attend to the perform- 
ance of some duties, and yet be strangers to a vi- 
tal change. Yea, this great enemy may puff them 
up with an idea of extensive knowledge, and such 
an experience which is beyond every other per- 
son's, so that they may imagine they stand high in 
the church ; when, alas ! their minds have never 
been savini^ly enlightened into the knowledge of 
divme things. 

U 



222 ADVICE RESPECTING 

Mere natural impressions may sometimes be 
taken for the work of the Spirit of God. Sub- 
lime descriptions, awful denunciations, delight- 
ful representations of the heavenly world, the tone 
of the. voice, the powers of eloquence, may great- 
ly affect the mind, and cause people to imagine 
that they are actually converted, when their own 
conduct testifies to tlie contrary. Thus it is said 
that Ezekiel, " was unto the people as a very 
lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and 
could play well on an instrument : they heard his 
words, but they did them not/' Ezek, xxxiii. 32. 
And it is to be feared there are too many who 
have their favourite ministers, their particular 
places, on this account. There is something pleas- 
ing or striking in the manner of the preacher, 
something agreeable in the place or the people, that 
attaches them ; and, thus pleased, they are too 
apt to suppose all is well, while these very people 
cannot, with any degree of propriety, render a 
reason of the hope that is in them. 

There have been many, also, who have made 
pretences to extraordinary communications with 
the Deity ; prophets and prophetesses, who, ac- 
cording to their own account, have dreamed 
dreams, seen visions, heard voices, and pretend to 
predict future events, as if inspired of God for 
that purpose. They have set themselves up as 
oracles, as the peculiar favourites of Heaven ! 
while, alas ! nothing has been more clearly proved 
than that they were deceived by their own imagin- 
ations, or carried away by vanity and self-conceit. 
Some people, not indeed so infatuated as these, 



* EXPERIENCE. 223 

have talked of great spiritual discoveries : they 
have had lively ideas of the form of Christ's per- 
son ; have heard, or thought they have heard, 
him speaking to them ; have had singular dreams, 
by which they have been imprudently guided, and 
yet boasted that they were under divine direction, 

Some good people, also, have been deceived. 
A weak temperament of body, nervous disorders, 
and a strong fancy, have led them to imagine 
strange things. Sometimes, when depressed in 
spirit, they have been ready to think God was a- 
bout to leave them ; or, when circumstances have 
transpired different to what they expected, then 
they thought that Providence was fighting against 
them. So, on the other hand, when their com- 
fort has increased, and they have felt themselves 
stronger in body, and their spirits better, then 
they have talked of the light of God's countenance 
being lifted upon them. Not but what there 
maybe occasional joys and griefs, according as 
God is pleased to manifest or withdraw himself 
from his people. But I am confident that a great 
deal of what is called distressing experience, 
arises from a weak frame of body. If such would 
pay attention to their health, live less upon their 
frames, and more upon the promises, it would be 
abundantly better for them, both as to body and 
soul. 

Others have been guided too much by impulses^ 
or sudden thoughts darting into their minds, 
without properly examining the tendency, and 
without recollecting that Satan can inject scrip- 
ture, or that passages may be brought to our re- 



^-** ADVICE RESPECTING 

collection by the occasion of some circumstance ov 
object remotely connected with it. This may or 
may not be of God ; and therefore extreme caution 
should be used. A supernatural influence, no 
doubt, is felt by all God's people ; but this influ- 
ence does not in general impel us to do an action 
precipitately, or without thought. 

They too, I think, act improperly, who open 
their Bibles to choose a text, and are determined 
to be guided according to the passage they shall 
first set their eyes on. Nothing can be more in- 
consistent. It may lead either to presumption or 
despair. The sense of scripture cannot be ob- 
tained in this manner, except it be a detached pas- 
sage, which are very few, compared with the Bi- 
ble at large. In this way, scripture may be made 
to speak any thing ; and for people to talk of 
their experience, and of God's directing them 
when they adopt such a practice as this, is really 
absurd, and cannot but excite our pity for those 
who are thus deluded. 

I have just hinted at these things, that we might 
see how men may be deceived as to religious ex- 
perience. And when we consider, as one observes, 
" that we can see but a little way into the depths 
of man's heart ; that there are so many ways 
whereby persons may be affected without any su- 
pernatural influence ; that the natural springs of 
the affections are so various and so secret ; that so 
many things have oftentimes a joint influence on the 
aff*ections and the imaginations ;" it ought to make 
us examine ourselves, lest, after all we should be 
only as the sounding brass and tinkling cymbaL 



EXPERIENCE. 225 

" Indeed, the surprising concourse of affecting^ 
circumstances, the extraordinary coincidence of 
things in the course of our thoughts, the subtle 
management of invisible malicious spirits, are 
such, that nothing will be sufficient to guide us 
safely through this labyrinth and maze, without 
our closely following the clue given us in God's 
word/' 

Let us proceed, then, to ask, In the first place, 
Whether our experience accords with the will 
and word of God ? This is the true balance in 
which all must be weighed. Whatever is deficient 
here, however it comes recommended, however 
specious, however it resembles the experience of 
the wise and good, it must be rejected. The Bi- 
ble is the only standard to Avhich our experience 
as well as principles must be brought. Whatever 
we feel, whatever impressions or views we have, 
if they are not countenanced by the scripture, we 
may suspect that they are not the effects of the op- 
erations of the Spirit. It is a sad sign, therefore^ 
when professors are guided by their own fancses, 
by the opinions of others, or merely by some im- 
j)ressions, rather than by thie word of God ; and 
still worse when they grow confident, have na 
doubts, but seem full of assurance and certain t)^ 
about the genuineness of their experience, while 
they neglect the rule, or are unwilling to be tried 
by it. Now, if our experience be genuine, if ouf 
views and feelings arise from a right source, we 
shall be willing to submit to this test. We shall 
not use it partially. We shall be fearful of being: 
decayed. We shall pray to God to search us aad 

IT ^' 



226 ADVICE RESPECTING 

try us. Here, then, we observe a difference be- 
tween a deluded professor and a real christian. 
One is guided by a rule of his own making, the 
other willingly submus to that which is made for 
him. One follows his own will and imagination : 
the other is guided by the directions and deci- 
sions of the holy scriptures. 

Secondly. Let us ask Whether our experience 
tends to promote humility ? Professions of humil- 
ity, indeed, may be common, where there is none in 
reality. " There are many," says Mr. Edwards, 
'^ that are full of expressions of their own vileness, 
who yet expect to be looked upon as eminent and 
bright saints by others, as their due ; and it is dan- 
gerous for any so much as to hint the contrary, or 
to carry it towards them any otherwise than as if we 
looked upon them as some of the chief of chris- 
tians. There are many that are crying out about 
their wicked hearts, and their great short comings, 
and unprofitableness, and speaking as though they 
looked on themselves as the meanest of the saints, 
who yet, if a minister should seriously tell them 
the same things in private, and should signify 
ihat he feared they were very low and weak chris- 
tians, and thought they had reason solemnly to 
consider of their great barrenness and unprofitable- 
.^ess, and falling so much short of many others, it 
would be more than they would digest : they would 
think themselves highly injured, and there would 
be a danger of a rooted prejudice in them against 
such a minister.'* But if our experience be of a right 
kind, we shall not seem to be humble only, but shall 
actually be so. Observe what effects the discoveries 



EXPERIENCE. 227 

and experience of the most eminent saints had on 
them. '^ I have heard of thee," says Job, " by the 
hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. 
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and 
ashes." Job xlii. 5, 6. '' Behold," says the 
psalmist, *' I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin 
did my mother conceive me." Ps. li. 5. " Sure- 
ly," says Agur, " I am more brutish than any 
man, and have not the understanding of a man." 
Prov. XXX. 2. And the great apostle Paul calls 
himself the chief of smners. Eph. iii. 8. 
1 Tim. i. 15. 

Now, if what we feel, or have discovered, if 
what we call our experience, tends to make us 
think highly of ourselves, or to boast of our attain- 
ments, we may be assured this is not of God. 
There is much talk by many persons of deefi exfie- 
rience ; but I know of no deep experience that 
is not deep in humility. Humility is highly spok- 
en of in the scriptures. It is the grand tendency 
of the whole system of divine revelation to humble 
man ; and where there is no humility there is 
nothing of God, of sound experience, of true re- 
ligion. Does our experience, then, promote this 
in us ? Are we more and more self-abased under 
a view of the holiness of God, the spirituality of 
the law, the excellencies of the Saviour, and the 
depravity of our hearts ? Do we the more we 
know, the more experience we have, the longer 
we live, think less of ourselves ? Are we laying 
in the dust, and, notwithstanding all our progress, 
still saying, God be merciful to me a sinner ? Are 
we so humbled as to be glad to be any where, or 



228 ADVICE RESPECTING 

be any thin^ for God ? Do we remember our 
ways, and all our doings, and loathe ourselves in 
our own sight, for all the evils we have commit- 
ted ? Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. Then, indeed, we 
have reason to believe that we are not deceived, 
that we are divinely taught ; for the sacrifices of 
God are a broken spirit : a broken and a contrite 
heart he will not despise. Thus saith the Lord, 
the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, 
whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy 
place ; with him also that is of a contrite and hum-- 
ble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and 
to revive the heart of the contrite ones/' Is. Ivii. 
15. Ps. li. 17. 

Farther, let us ask. Whether our experience 
teaches us to bear with others ? To talk of happy 
communion with God, of enlargements of mind, 
and animation of soul in his service ; of fresh dis^ 
coveries of the perfections of God, of the exten- 
sive views we have of his word and providences, 
and yet to be contracted and bigotred as it re- 
spects others, is a strange thing. '' The wisdom 
that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, 
gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and 
good fruits, without partiality, and without hypoc- 
risy. "^ Jas. iii. 17. What shall we say, then, of 
those who are perpetually railing against others, 
and that because they do not happen to agree with 
them in every inferior circumstance ? What can 
we think of the experience of those wh.o are ready 
to exclude every body from the kingdom of heav- 
en i»ut those of their own party ? Can t!?cir expe- 
rience of divme love be very great, who take a 



EXPERIENCE. 229 

pleasure in searching out and talking of the infirm- 
itit^s of others ? Let us not deceive ourselves : 
if the spirit of malignity, envy, illiberality, oppo- 
sition, predominate in us, however we may talk of 
our intercourse with heav.en, we evidently mani- 
fest we are still of the earth. These are not the 
dispositions of the gospel ; " for the fruit of the 
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle- 
ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance : a- 
gainst such there is no law." Gal. v. 22, 23. 
The more communion we have with God, the 
more we shall pity the weakness and bear with the 
infirmities of his people. Reader, If thou art a 
poor bigotted soul, speaking well of nothing but 
what is of thine own party, taking pleasure in puz- 
zling the weak with unnecessary and useless sub- 
jects, and quarrelling about trifles, how dwelleth 
the love of God in thee ? Where is that mildness, 
that quiet and peaceable behaviour, that tender- 
ness to others, that liberality of soul, w^hich char- 
acterises those whose experience is genuine, and 
whose hearts are right with God ? Surely, if we 
feel as we ought to do, we shall know something 
of that charity which suffereth long and is kind, 
which does not envy, nor vaunt itself ; that is not 
puffed up ; that doth not behave itrjclf urseemly ; 
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, think- 
eth no evil, that beareth all things, hopeth all 
things, and endureth all things. 1 Cor. xiii. 1, Sec. 
Again ; Does our experience excite us to be ar- 
dent in devotion, and constant in our attendance up- 
on the ordinances of God ? There may, it is true, be 
an appearance of devotion, and a punctual attend- 



230 ADVICE RESPECTING 

ance on public worship, where there is no expe- 
rience of the power of religion. But, then, this is 
ajifiearance only. There is no sincere motive. 
There is no real love to the ordinances. There is 
no corresponding fruit. Now a good man expe- 
riences so much of his own helplessness, sees so 
much the necessity of divine assistance, that he 
highly esteems and gladly attends upon the or- 
dinances of divine institution with the most sin- 
cere desire to have his mind more informed, his 
heart more deeply impressed, and his affections 
raised above all earthly things. There are some 
who talk much of their being taught of God, and of 
their having such revelations and experiences, as 
to have no occasion for the means : " We have," 
say they, " an unction from the Holy One, and 
know all things. We need not that any man teach 
us. We have already obtained the blessing. It is 
within us.'' Ordinances, therefore, to them are 
considered as useless. Sabbaths are no more than 
other days. Prayer or petition is scarcely neces- 
sary. The house of God may or may not be at- 
tended. In a word, the supposed idea of their 
having Cnrist in them supercedes the use of 
miians ; and, imagining that the work is done, 
there is no occasion for any ordinances to perfect 
that which they think is already perfected, as far 
as it can be this side the grave. But how such 
can reconcile all those passages of scripture which 
refer to progressive knowledge and sanctification 
by the use of means, I am at a loss to determine. 
[See page III.] We are commanded to pray, to 
exhort one anotherj to read his v/ord, and to as- 



EXPERIENCE. 231 

semble ourselves toj^ether : moreover, we have 
the promise of the Saviour, that he will be in the 
midst of us, to bless us. Luke xviii. 1. Heb. iii. 
13. Heb. X. 25. Matt, xviii. 20. We must, there- 
fore, be suspicious of those views which would 
lead us to give up ordinances ; for, alas ! we make 
but little improvement and progress with them, 
and how much less should we make without them ! 
Again ; Does our experience excite in us a lively- 
concern for the good of others ? This certainly is 
one grand criterion of its genuineness. The relig- 
ion of Jesus no where encourages absolute seclu- 
sion from society. We are called upon, indeed, to 
come out from tlie world ; we must not imbibe 
its spirit, follow its pleasures, or be ruled by its 
sinful customs. But then we are not to bury our- 
selves in perpetual solitude, as if we hated all 
mankind, and were determined they should have 
no benefit from our existence. No ; the spir- 
it of Christianity is the spirit of benevolence : 
it wishes well to mankind ; it prays for their 
happiness, it exerts herself for their good. Who, 
then, is the insensible, inanimate being, whose 
heart is contracted ; who is destitute of ev- 
ery generous feeling ; whose bosom never yet 
glowed with one benevolent wish ; who never 
dropt a tear over the miseries of his fellow crea- 
tures, and who never yet made one exertion to 
alleviate their pain, or increase their happiness ? 
Is it the christian ? Is it he v/ho has felt the pow- 
er of divine grace ? Impossible ! He who has 
tasted that the Lord is gracious, who is convinced 
of his own state, and the suitability of the gospel 



232 ADVICE RESPECTING 

as the only remedy ! He who has been plucked as 
a brand from the burning, and is himself a monu- 
ment of distinguishing grace, cannot be unfeeling, 
cannot be unconcerned about others. His heart 
meditates good. The benevolence of his soul sets 
all his powers at work to invent some method, or 
adopt some plan, for the relief, the instruction, the 
happiness of those around him. By this, then, let 
us try ourselves. If our experience makes us sat- 
isfied with ourselves ; if we can sit still from year 
to year, without concern for others ; if our proper- 
ty, our talents, our time, are all laid out for our own 
interest alone ; if we rest only in cold wishes, in 
common place observations on the state of man- 
kind ; if we are ready to reproach those whose zeal 
shames our timidity ; if we carelessly let slip op- 
portunities of doing good which present themselves 
to us, and which may never return more, how can 
we call ourselves christians ? Let us not talk of our 
knowledge, our experience, our talents, our re- 
spectability, our membership of churches, while 
the world is falling down about us, and we sitting 
still in criminal inactivity. Cold heart ! unfeel- 
ing creature conM^acted soul ! Go to the inhos- 
pitable desert, dwell in the wilderness, hide thy- 
self from the face of man, if thou art deter- 
mined to be of no use to society ; but if thou 
professest to be a christian, act in character. Look 
around ; behold the multitudes perishing on the 
shores of eternity ! What is thy knowledge if kept 
to thyself, while the world is in darkness ? W hat 
thy tale^us, if not used for the advantage of tl.ose 
who are yet in misery ? What thy experience, if ft 



EXPERIENCE. ^oo 

does not lead thee to commiserate the deplorable 
state of those who are still in the gall of bitterness 
and bonds of iniquity ? Arise, therefore ; shake off 
the slumbers of night. The sun of time is up, 
but will soon decline : work while it is day ; for 
the night will soon come, when no man can work. 
I^astly, and above all, let us ask, Does our experi- 
ence lead to dependence on God, and obedience to 
him ? This is the best criterion. " Herein is love, 
that we keep his commandments. He that is born 
of God sinneth not. Every man that hath this hope 
in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. The 
grace of God that bringeth salvation teaches us, 
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
present world." I Jo. v. iii. 1 Jo. iii. 9. I Jo. lii. 
3. Titus ii. 10, 11. If we, then, are taught of 
God, there will be a prevailing love for, and an ha- 
bitual pursuit after holiness. Our religion v^ill 
not be that of the hour, or of the day. It is not on 
any particular circumstance, or singularly trying 
occasion, that we shall be concerned. Many seem 
impressed for a season by alarming providences, 
searching discourses, or painful bereavements ; but 
their convictions soon wear away, and they return 
again to the world and sensual enjoyments. But 
where our experience is genuine, where the work 
is begun, it will be carried on : sin will be increas- 
ingly hateful and holiness increasingly lovely in 
our estimation. We shall not be intimidated by 
the threats nor allured by the smiles of the world. 
We shall cheerfully bear the reproach of men, 
watch against the temptations of Satan, and sted- 
W 



234 ADVICE RESPECTING 

lastly set our faces against sin, wherever we see it. 
The reason of this is evident, " because a gra- 
cious experience," says Mr. Edwards, " arises 
from operations and influences which are spirit- 
ual, from an inward principle which is divine, a 
communication of God, a participation of the di- 
vine nature : Christ living in the heart, the Holy 
Spirit dwelling there, in union with the faculties 
of the soul, as an internal vital principle, exerting 
his own proper nature in the exercise of those 
faculties. Now it is no wonder that that which is 
divine, is powerful and effectual, for it has omnip- 
otence on its side. If God dwell in the heart, and 
will be vitally united to it, he will shew that he is 
a God by the efficacy of his operation. Christ is 
not in the heart of a saint as in a sepulchre, or as a 
dead Saviour, that does nothing ; but as one that 
is in his temple, and as one that is alive from the 
dead. A statue may look very much like a real 
man, and a beautiful man, yea, it may have, in its 
appearance to the eye, the resemblance of a very 
lively, strong, and active man ; but yet an inward 
principle of life and strength is wanting, and, 
therefore, it does nothing ; it brings nothing to 
pass : there is no action or operation to answer 
the shew. False discoveries and affections do not 
go deep enough to reach and govern the spring 
of men's actions and practice. The seed in 
stony ground had no deepness of earth, and the 
root did not go deep enough to bring forth fruit. 
But gracious affections go to the very bottom of 
the heart, and take hold of the very inmost springs 
of life and activity. Herein chiefly appears the 



EXPERIENCE. 235 

power of true godliness ; viz. in its being effec- 
tual in practices. This power, indeed, is exerted 
in the first place within the soul, in the sensible, 
lively exercise of gracious affections there. Yet 
the principal evidence of this power of godliness 
is in those exercises of holy affections that are 
practical, and in their being practical ; in con- 
quering the willy and the lusts and corruptions of 
men, and carrying men on in the way of holi- 
ness, through all temptation, difficulty, and oppo- 
sition." Here, then, let us examine ourselves. 
What is the general bent of our will ; what is the 
prevailing habitual inclination of our hearts ? Do 
we regard iniquity in secret, and love to practise 
it when \Ve have opportunity ? and are we hard- 
ened and careless when we have committed it, 
as if it v/ere a light thing ? If so, whatever are 
our raptures, however affected w^e may be under 
the word, however loquacious in our talk, or how- 
ever extensive our knowledge, or brilliant our 
talents, we have reason to think we are deceiving 
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. On the con- 
trary, if our practice be holy and uniform : if we 
are continually maintaining a conflict with sin ; 
if it be that which is inore hateful to us than any- 
other object ; if w^e choose suffering before sin- 
ning ; if we are breathing after the divine image, 
and aiming at his glory ; then, although our 
knowledge may be but small, our hearts often de- 
pressed, our gifts but slender, and we are inca- 
pable of saying much before others, we have rea- 
son to conclude that we are not deceived. For, 
surely, if the Lord had meant to have destroyed 



236 ADVICE RESPECTING 

US, he would not have shewn us such things as 
these. But let us proceed now to a 

2d. Advice. Learn not to abuse exfierience. 

Experience may be abused by boasting of it 
as extraordinary, by living and depending on it, 
by introducing it 'at improper times, and before 
improper persons. 

First. We should not boast of our experience 
as always extraordinary. Doubtless there may 
be experiences which may be considered as sin- 
gular, and out of the way ; and it is not for us to 
limit the Deity, or prescribe to him how he is to 
act as to his operations on the minds of his crea- 
tures. And such experiences may, under the in- 
fluence of prudence, be related to others as extra- 
ordinary. But to be always talking of ourselves, 
or of our experience as singular, as if none had 
felt as we have ; to assume to ourselves a degree 
of consequence on the account thereof, and al- 
most to despise others because we think they 
have not experienced the same as ourselves, this 
is an abuse of experience. A little acquaintance 
with others will teach us, that our experience is 
not so singular as we imagine ; and that we have 
no occasion to boast or talk as if we were the only 
individuals who have been led in a peculiar path. 
It savours, also, too much of pride to be continually 
dwelling on subjects relative to ourselves, as if we 
wanted others to admire us ; for though a just re- 
lation of what God has done for us will be highly 
grateful and useful to others, yet, if we are not 
cautious, we shall justly incur the charge of ego- 
tism and vanity, and prove at the same time that 
our experience cannot be very great. 



EXPERIENCE. 23T 

Again ; it is an abuse of experience to live and 
depend on it. We may certainly derive consid- 
erable advantage from the recollection of past ex- 
periences, and by using them as evidences of 
grace. It is pleasant to look back on the way 
which the Lord hath led us, and to remember the 
interpositions of his providence, the supplies of 
his grace, the answers he hath given to our pray- 
ers, and the deliverances he hath wrought in time 
of danger. But it is an abuse of experience, if 
we expect the Divine Being always to act exactly' 
in the same way ; that he will answer our prayers 
just at such a time ; that he will give us the same 
degree of comfort. It is true he has promised 
that he will never leave nor forsake his people ; 
but in what way he may be pleased to work for 
us, whether instantaneously or gradually, whether 
by the same instruments or others, we must 
leave to him. Our dependence must be on the 
promise, not on our feelings. He is a Sovereign^^ 
and acts in his own way, and that frequently very 
different from our plans and schemes ; and this 
he does, that we might ever remember that our 
safety, our comfort, our every good, is at his dis- 
posal ; and that we must rely on him, and not on 
means or even past circumstances. But it is still 
a greater abuse of experience, when we place such 
a dependence on former events, so as to preclude 
present exertions. It is no reason, because God 
has sometimes appeared to work without means? 
that therefore we are to be indolent, or to lay a- 
side the use of those means which lie has wisely 
instituted for the carrying on his own work 5 for 

W 2 



238 ADVICE RESPECTING 

thou,^h he is not bound to them, nve are. Young 
ministers have soine imes erred in this respect. 
They have, perhaps, been called suddenly to en- 
gage in the work of pre ? chin ij;, before they have 
had time for much study or thought. They have 
enjoyed much liberty, perhaps more than on oc- 
casions when they have made the greatest prep- 
arations. They have immediately thought, Sure- 
ly, if I can preach in tliis way, where is the neces- 
sity of premeditation or study ? They have as- 
cended the pulpit with a degree of confidence ; 
they imagined all would be the same ; that they 
should have no cause to fear : but how soon have 
they been disappointed 1 how soon have they 
learnt their error 1 God has shewn them, that they 
had been making a wrong use of their feelings ; 
that they had been placing confidence on their ex- 
perience, rather than on flim Hearers, likewise, 
err in this respect : »vhen they have felt themselves 
happy in a particular place, under such a sermon, 
or on a particular occasion, they are apt to imag- 
ine that the same place, the same minister the 
same circumstance will produce the same comfort. 
But how often do we hear complaints of their 
disappointment I and the reason is evident, be- 
cause they have relied more upon the circumstan- 
ces than the divine blessing. It becomes, then, 
a great abuse of experience to substitute it in the 
place of Christ himself, or to eye our experiences 
instead of the divine glory and the excellencies of 
the gospel. Let christians watch, also, against 
being guided by their passions and feelings, fop 
Ihis often becomes a source of error and distress. 



EXFERIEKCE. 2S9 

^* Such,** says Dr. Watts, '^ live very much by fits 
and starts oi devotion, without tiiat uniform and 
steady sprini^ of faith which would render tiieir 
religion more even and uniform, more honoura- 
ble to God, and more comfortable to themselves. 
They are always high on the wing, or else lying 
moveless on the ground I'hey are ever in the 
heights or the depths : travelling on bright 
mountains with the songs of heaven on their lips ; 
or groaning and labouring through the dark val- 
lies, and never walking onward, as on an even 
plain, towards heaven." 

Another abuse of experience is, the introduc- 
ing it at improper times. As there is a tim to 
speak, so there is a time to be silent. Some- 
times we are called to hear others ; and as oth- 
ers have something to relate as well as we, it is 
indecorous and imprudent ro occupy the whole 
time ourselves, and not to let others have an op- 
portunity to declare what God has done for them. 
Tiiere are some good people, who, from a natur- 
al volubility, a degree of zeal, and who possess 
more courage than others, may be reprehensible 
as to this You never see them in the back 
ground. They never dwell in the shade. They 
must be foremost. Now as this boldness does 
not arise in general from their having greater 
discoveries or a deeper experience than others, 
but is, pernaps, constitutional and natural, they^ 
ought to maintain a perpetual watch over them- 
selves, lest by intrusion they keep back others^ 
wi-o, perhaps, are more solid in tneir judgment, 
more extensive m Uieir knowledge, more rich in 



24® ADVICE RESPECTING 

experience than themselves. Perhaps it would 
be better in general, also, to wait till we are call- 
ed upon : a loquacious person is often suspected, 
and certainly, the more we know of ourselves, 
the less we shall be disposed to shine by appear- 
ances of profound experience and wisdom. '' A 
person," says Dr. Edwards, " may be over-full of 
talk of his own experience, commonly falling 
upon it every where, and in all companies ; and 
when it is so, it is rather a dark sign than a good 
one. As a tree that is over-full of leaves, seldom 
bears much fruit ; and as a cloud, though, to ap- 
pearance, very pregnant and full of water, if it 
brings with it over-much wind, seldom affords 
much rain to the dry and thirsty earth ;" such 
persons, therefore, by their forwardness, will at 
least expose themselves to the suspicion of others : 
and, truly, they ought to be exceeding minute 
and particular in the examination of their mo- 
tives, since that which they take for zeal, at the 
bottom, may be nothing more than a desire to ex- 
alt themselves. 

The young and inexperienced are sometimes 
apt to err on this point. Youthful vigour, lively 
apprehension, little knowledge of the human heart, 
and warm desires, may sometimes prompt them 
to take the chair of the older and more experi- 
enced. These are rather to be pitied than con- 
demned, as they will learn better as they advance 
in tiie christian life : I vi^ould here, however, give 
my young readers advice to watch against forward- 
ness, to pay a proper deference to older ciiristiansj, 
to read and think muchj to avoid loquaciousness^ 



EXPERIENCE. 241 

to be humble and docile, rather to be desirous of 
hearing the experience of others than relating 
their own : so shall you have praise and encourage- 
ment ; you will rise in the esteem and affection of 
the righteous ; you will share in their prayers, and 
be benefited by their advice ; while, at the same 
time, you will give evidence that you are making 
progress in divine things. 

Once more, it is an abuse of experience to in- 
troduce it before improper persons. It was our 
Lord's advice, " Give not that which is holy unto 
the dogs ; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, 
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn 
again and rend you." Matt. vii. 7. And the 
psalmist invited the righteous only^ and not all in- 
discriminately, to hear what God hath done for his 
soul. Ps. Ixvi. 16. To reprove the wicked with 
mildness, to warn them in the spirit of love of the 
error of their way, to endeavour to inform and 
instruct them when we have opportunity, is highly 
proper and desirable ; but to talk to them of chris- 
tian experience is not appropriate or judicious. 
As they know nothing of the hopes and fears, the 
sorrows and joys, the views and feelings of the 
christian, whose life may be considered as a hidden 
life to them, it must either tend to harden their 
hearts, or at least lead them to form strange 
and confused ideas of their religion. The apostle 
justly says, " The natural man receiveth not 
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are fool- 
ishness unto him : neither can he know them, 
because they are spiritually discerned. I Cor. ii. 
14. What ideas can the dead, the blind, form of 



242 ADVICE RESPECTING 

surrounding objects ? and what idea can those who 
are spiritually dead, form of the acts and exercises, 
springs and principles, habits and progress, of 
grace and holiness ? Surely none at all. How 
inconsistent, therefore, to be continually relating 
our experience before or to them ! They consider 
it only as enthusiasm, or the effects of a wild and 
disordered imagination ; while they reproach the 
subjects of it as being deluded, and take occasion 
from their own ignorance to harden themselves 
still more in their sinful courses. Thus I have 
endeavoured to consider a few instances wherein 
experience may be abused. I proceed now to the 

3d. Advice. Be cautious as to the manner in 
tvhich you relate your experience. 

As to the propriety of relating our experience, 
we have already considered this in the eighth 
chapter. ♦ There is no doubt of its being useful, 
when conducted in a proper manner. And first 
of all I would observe, that it should be done with 
the greatest humility. Pride assaults us in every 
thing we do for the glory of God. And we have 
great need to watch, lest it should be manifest 
here. Every thing that savours of ostentation, 
love of praise, and high opinions of ourselves, 
should be avoided. Nor should it be to obtain a 
name for great experience^ or to be marked as 
one who is superior to all others. Humility at 
all times is commendable, but it should particu- 
larly appear when we speak of ourselves. Let 
us herein follow the example of the great apostle. 
His attainments, indeed, were high, his useful- 
ness great ; but how does he speak of himself* 



< EXPERIENCE. 243 

and what humility runs through j^ll his relation! 
<< I am nothing. Less than ^the least of all. 
The chief of sinners. Wretched man 1" 1 Cor. 
xiii. 3. Eph. iii. 8. I Tim. i. 15. Rom. vii. 24. 
And here I beg leave to say a word respecting 
the practice of some, who are in the habit of re- 
lating their own experience in the pulpit. They 
are always talking of what they have done ; of 
the extraordinary light they have had into par- 
ticular subjects, and the sufferings they have 
borne for the sake of the cross. Now, I must 
confess I am not of the opinion of those who 
think it improper for ministers at any time to de- 
clare their feelings or experience in public ; yet I 
think it should be done but seldom, and with much 
caution, because it is rather preaching ourselves 
than Christ ; it may have an unfavourable im- 
pression on the minds of many of the hearers, 
and, as one justly observes, it has the air of a 
standard for the people, and so apt to excite in 
some, contempt, and in others unnecessary fears. 
But to return : the relation of our experience 
should be with prudence, and always with a de- 
sign to do good Some say too much, others too 
little. There is no occasion to reveal the whole 
of our minds to every body, nor is it prudent, 
perhaps, to be always telling our secret trials even 
to our brethren and friends, since, after all, they 
may form a wrong judgment, and we may do 
ourselves an injury. On the other hand, we 
should not be unnecessarily reserved. We may 
tell our experience so far as it may be prcMiiuc- 
tiveof good to others. To keep every thing to 



344 ADVICE RESPECTING 

ourselves, is the way to increase our own sorrow, 
to preclude the help and sympathy of otiicrs 
towards us. The mind is relieved by the com- 
munication of its exercises. Besides, a reserved 
christi n runs the hazard of incurring opprobri- 
um, and can scarcely be said to be useful to others. 
It is best, then, to watch against an extreme ; 
neither to be too forward in relating our experi- 
ence, lest we should say more than is truth, or tiian 
we intended to say ; nor to be too backward, lest 
we should lose opportunities of strengthening 
and assisting others* and also expose ourselves to 
censure, by giving others reason to think that we 
do not possess that amiable spirit, that lovely tem- 
per, which the gospel inculcates. Some al- 
lowances, perhaps, may be made for the timid chris- 
tian ; but it would be adviseable for such to en- 
deavour to conquer a fearfulness which is often in- 
jurious to their happiness. Weak nerves, the 
consciousness of ignorance and imperfection in 
themselves ; the too high opinion, perhaps, which 
they form of the experience or the wisdom of 
others, cause them to dwell in obscurity, and make 
them fearful of saying any thing about themselves. 
But they must watch against a timidity which 
may degenerate into sinfulness ; a humility which 
would drive them from their brethren, and ren- 
der them useless in society. The apostle says, 
" It is good to be zealously affected ahvays in a 
good thing." Gal. iv. 18. We behold zeal dis- 
played in almost every worldly thing. The a- 
chievements of the hero, the attainments of the 
learned, the exertions of the benevolent, are reit- 



EXPERIENCE. 245 

erated from place to place with unceasing praises. 
But how much more reason has a christian to 
exult and rejoice, to dwell on the rapturous theme 
of divme goodness, to relate the wonders of re- 
deeming grace and dying love ! Think, there- 
fore, O timid and fearful believer, what cause you 
have to open your lips, and shew forth his praise. 
If God had made you inanimate, if he had never 
conferred on you any favour, if you had been 
created a stock or a stone, then, like an inani- 
mate being, you might be silent. But he has 
made you a rational and an immortal soul. He 
has heaped innumerable favours upon you ; he has 
delivered you from misery and wrath ; he has 
given his own Son to bleed, to die for you, that 
you might live ^nd be happy forever. How, then, 
can you be dumb ? 

Lastly,in the relation of experience, let us all keep 
the glory of God in view ; let us do it with joy 
and gratitude. Instead of dwelling with sorrow on 
the recollection of our past trials, let us rather 
rejoice that we have been supported under them ; 
that we have been brought through them ; that 
they have all been rendered subservient to our 
real good. How few have been our sorrows, when 
compared to our joys ! how few our pains to our 
pleasures I how few our crosses to our blessings ! 
May we not all say with the psalmist, " Bless 
the Lord, O my soul ! and all that is within me, 
bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul I 
and forget not all his benefits. Who forgiveth 
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. 
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who 

X 



246 ADVICE RESPECTING 

crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender 
mercies. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good 
things, so that thy youth is renewed hke the ea- 
gles." Ps. ciii. 1 — 5. Let us often, then, speak 
one to another of what God has done for us. 
Perhaps this will form part of our employ in the 
celestial world. Let us even now, therefore, be- 
gin this happy work : we have all mercies to 
enumerate, deliverances to remember, favours to 
record. Let us animate each other by the way, 
and, by a just and prudent relation of our experi- 
ence, be the means of strengthening the weak 
hands, confirming the feeble knees, and exciting 
others to go forward with renewed alacrity in 
the path to i)appiness and to glory. 
But we shall close this chapter "with 
4th. jidvice^ rrtative to exfierience books and eX' 
per ence meetings. 

As to experience books, or journals of our own 
feelings and experience, they certainly may be 
useful. Some have used them, however, with- 
out much prudence. Things of little or no con- 
sequence, have been inserted. Common circum- 
stances have been recorded as singular events ; 
and events which happen to all, as if they were 
peculiar to an individual. Pages have been fill- 
ed with accounts of remarkable elevations or 
depressions, alternate joys and sorrows, without 
ever tracing the springs or sources of eitlier. 
And perhaps a whole volume of things of this 
kind, without any judicious reflection ; and in 
which, after all, nothing can be traced of a mind 
intent upon her own operations, or wisely attempt- 



EXPERIENCE. 247 

ing to trace the causes or examine the effects of 
the feehngs so recorded. Here, too, we cannot 
but observe the impropriety of publishing such 
accounts to the world after the author's decease ; 
since they afford nothing new, nothing striking, 
nothing that will any way tend to enlarge or im- 
prove our minds, and which, perhaps, the author 
himself never thought of having made public. 

But I am no enemy to religious journals, or 
experience books, provided they be kept with 
propriety, and not made the registers of every 
trifling event, every common circumstance. I 
think they may be greatly conducive to our en- 
couragement and spiritual profit. Our mem- 
ories are often slippery. " It is true,*' as Mr. 
Flavel says, '' that things that greatly affect us 
are not easily forgotten by us ; and yet how or- 
dinary is it for new impressions to rase' out for- 
mer ones ! It was a saying of that worthy man 
Dr. Harris, ' my memory,' said he, ' never failed 
me in all my life, for, indeed, I durst never trust 
it.' Written memorials secure us against that 
hazard, and besides make them useful to others 
when we are gone. So that you carry not away 
all your treasure to heaven with you, but leave 
these choice legacies to your surviving friends. 
Certainly it were not so great a loss to lose your 
silver, your goods, and chattels, as it is to lose your 
experiences which God hath this way given you 
in this world. Take heed, however," continues 
Mr. Flavel, " of clasping up those rich treasures 
in a book, and thinking it enough to have noted 
them there ; but have frequent recourse to them 



24^ ADVICE RESPECTING 

as oft as new wants, fears, or difficulties, arise and 
assault you/' 

As to what are called experience meetings, or 
meetings held for the express purpose of relat- 
ing experience, under proper management they 
may become useful. Great care, however, should 
be taken not to introduce family concerns. Or- 
der should be punctually observed, every one 
speaking in his turn ; and if there be a president 
or leader, he may vary iiis questions so that the 
meeting may not degenerate into a dull, formal, 
unmeaning service. 

As it respects the admission of persons into 
church membership, by a relation of their expe*- 
rience, some are of opinion that it is a useful plan ; 
others think it is not necessary, and that to require 
it keeps back many who are weak, and who, though 
they are serious, yet cannot give any circumstan- 
tial account of their experience. It is proper that 
candidates for admission should give evidence 
some way or other of sincere repentance of sin, 
and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salva- 
tion ; and it is strange to conceive how a man has 
felt a change of heart, without being able to com- 
municate his sentiments, or express his feelings 
in some degree. Yet I do not think that it is es- 
sential for any one to give a minute and particu- 
lar account of all the steps and methods by which 
the Holy Spirit wrought this change. Nor do I 
think that any relation of experience is sufficient 
for the admission of members. Hypocrites can 
sometimes give a better account than some v/eak 
believers ; so that, by a mere dependence on the 



EXPERIENCE. 249 

relation of experience, we may be deceived. On 
the whole, I think, if there be any evidence of 
faith and repentance, we should be extremely cau- 
tious what barriers we put in the way. There 
may be much ignorance where there is much sin» 
cerity. Some cannot write ; others are filled 
with timidity when they come before a church, 
the greatest part of whom, perhaps, are strangers. 
Allowances must be made for men's natural dis- 
positions, and for their infirmities too. We must 
not despise the day of small things. Where a 
full and accurate account can be given, it is pleas- 
ant and edifying ; but where it cannot, as long as 
we are satisfied with the character^ we ought not 
to reject, lest we do an injury to the weak, and re- 
fuse those whom Christ has accepted 



X S 



250 THE EVIL OF THE 



CHAP. XII 



THE EVIL OF THE WANT OF EXPERIENCE. 

IT has often been justly remarked, that no« 
thing can supply the place of experience. This 
is found true in every department of life. What- 
ever knowledge we may obtain, whatever talents 
we possess, whatever fine speculations we may pur- 
sue, we are likely to expose ourselves to danger 
without experience. How superior is that gener- 
al who has been in the field, to him who has only 
studied military tactics in his closet 1 How much 
more skilful is the mariner who has had to con^ 
tend with the storm, than he who has only studied 
navigation at home 1 How much more acute, ac- 
tive, and watchful is that man who has been long 
accustomed to business, than he who has only 
learnt the first principles of it from books or mere 
instruction ! As we pass along the walks of life, 
what sad scenes present themselves 1 What rep- 
utation lost 1 what health ruined ! what property 
wasted ! Do we ask, from whence all this ? the 
answer is, The want of experience. How fre- 
quently are tidings brought of creditors defraud^ 
ed, of apparently flourishing plans frustrated, of 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE. 251 

promising schemes all terminating in confusion I 
If we ask, from whence all this-^ the answer is, 
The want of experience. As we pass on, what 
numbers do we find actually slain, and laying dead 
about us 1 Do we ask, Who slew all these ? the 
answer is, Inexperience. But it is not in worldly 
concerns only that men are exposed to danger 
from this, but in concerns of still i^reater impor- 
tance. What folly may be sometimes discovered 
in our conduct ! what ignorance beclouds our 
views I What false conclusions do we draw, and 
what contracted ideas do we form of many things 
in a religious point of view, and all from a want of 
more experience ! Behold even the disciples of 
our Lord; although they attended his ministrations, 
were effectually called by his grace, and were en- 
abled to renounce the world for his name's sake, 
yet what ignorance and inexperience did they 
sometimes manifest ! Take the following instance: 
" Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's chil- 
dren, with her sons, worshipping him, and desir- 
ing a certain thing of him, And he said unto her, 
what wilt thon ? She saith unto him, Grant that 
these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right 
hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not 
what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup ^hat 
I shall drink of, and to be baptised with the 
baptism that I am baptised with ? They say 
unto him, we are able i" Matt. xx. 20 — 23. 
These sons of Zebedee were James and John, 
two of our Lord's favourite disciples, and yet 
what a sad mistake were they guilty of! What 



252 THE EVIL OF THE 

ambition, what pride, what ignorance, what con fi- 
dence 1 Ah ! ye beloved disciples, is it you that 
dream of honour ? How little have ye experienced 
of the cross that is first to be borne i Is it you that 
we hear say, "We are able ?" As before you 
knew not what you asked, so surely now you 
know not what you say. What ! are you able to 
drink of the cup of sufferings without murmur- 
ing ? Are you able to bear reproach without con- 
tradiction ? Are you able to endure afflictions, 
necessities, oppositions, temptations, and crosses^ 
and even to be exposed to martyrdom and death, 
without fear ? How little do you know as yet of 
the sufferings of the cross ! How little yet of the 
fro^^ns of the world, the temptations of Satan, the 
corruptions of the heart I And yet you say. We 
are able. What language 1 W^hat inexperience I 
What rashness 1 

But we need not dwell on the faults of the dis- 
ciples. How many have we around us, who, like 
them, are continually saying, " We are able," 
and whose inexperience has led them to think 
they can do all things easily ; who have rushed 
into danger without thought, and involved them- 
selves in misery by confiding in their owa 
strength ! Alas I turn which way we will, we be- 
hold multitudes who are suffering for want of 
that wisdom which can only be derived from ex- 
perience, and who, regardless of the advice and 
experience of others, have been guided by their 
awn seii-will and precipitate spirit. But we will 
new proceed more particularly to specify some o£ 
those evils wi;ich arise Irom want of experience m 
religious concerns. 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE. 253 

And, first, we observe that inexperience exposes 
us to the snares of the world. How soon are 
young professors led aside ! The specious argu- 
iHients, the fair promises, the alluring prospects 
which are held out, too often deceive them. How 
ready are v/orldly men to insinuate that there is 
no occasion to be so much concerned about relig- 
ion ; that it will have a tendency to disorder their 
minds ; that worldly pleasures and amusements, 
so long as we do not injure our neighbours, are 
not only lawful, but necessary ! Thus they com- 
pel the inexperienced to go with them a little way, 
under the idea that all shall be for their happiness ; 
or, if it should not, that it is easy to return. But, 
ahis ! what is the consequence ? They find them- 
selves entangled and bewildered. They are afraid 
to go forward ; they are almost ashamed to go 
back. Conscience reproaches. The guilt of apos- 
tacy appears as a frightful spectre. The thought 
of listening to the world rather than God cuts 
them to the heart. And now what is the cause of 
all this ? Is it not want of experience I Do we not 
hear them say, " Little did we think the world 
had such designs upon us. It was but a small 
step we first took from the right path. We 
thought we had strength enough to recover our- 
selves, or prevent the world from drawing us any 
farther. How greatly deceived ! Had we known 
the consequences, how should we have trembled ! 
But, alas I we were insensibly led on from one 
thing to another, till we were surrounded by the 
enemy, and found the fatal consequence of obeying 
man rather than God." How different is it with 



254 THE EVIL OF THE 

those who have experience ! Thevj too, are attack- 
ed. The world waits and watches for them. It 
tries them in every point. But they are not so 
easily deluded. They know its artifices, they 
guard against its allurements. They have learnt 
the evil of hearkening to its propositions, and they 
flee the company of its votaries ; knowing tiiat a 
wound may be received in a moment, which will 
take years to heal. 

The want of experience exposes us to the 
temptations of Satan. This great enemy pos- 
sesses much experience himself. The scriptures 
inform us of his m/ ^s, his fiery darts^ his deJitM^ 
his devices. Eph. vi. 12, 16. Rev. ii. 24. 2 Cor. 
ii. 1 1. And if he attack the strong, it is no won- 
der he does the weak. Too often, indeed, he 
gains the advantage over the young christian. 
He can either be as a roaring lion to alarm, or as 
an angel of light to deceive. How often have 
the young ventured on his ground, unsuspicious 
of the snares he has set for them 1 They have 
even mistook so far as to imagine, that it was a 
kind preparat on made by Providence for their 
ease, instead of its being an artifice of Satan, in or- 
der to render them miserable. Alas I how many- 
thousands have had to regret their w^ant of expe- 
rience, their little knowledge of the wiles of Satan, 
and their little watchfulness against so insidious 
an enemy 1 Divine power, however, is manifested 
in the preservation of those whose experience, 
though small, is genuine ; and we have stili 
greater reason to lament over the ravages Satan 
commits among them, who, notwithstanding their 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE, 255 

.apparent love to the truth, and long profession of 
it, liave been led capiive by him. He has strongly- 
insinuated that they might serve God and love the 
world too. That it is not to be expected, in this 
state of things, that men should be always con- 
sistent and uniform. That God is too merciful to 
require it. That a man's temporal advantage must 
be sought and attended to before any other object ; 
till, at last, the man is brought to believe t. at re- 
ligion is nothmg, that doubts may be lawfully en- 
tertained as to the truth of the Bible, that an at- 
tendance on ordinances is unnecessary, and that he 
may either make a profession of religion or not, 
just as it suits his own^ interest. Thus the man's 
eyes are blinded, and ins heart hardened ; he stifles 
his conviction, and returns to the world, where he 
is continually seen a miserable vassal in Satan's do- 
minion, and every moment exposed to eternal 
miseiy. And all this is the consequence of liis 
having no real experience of divine tilings. He 
came from the world to the church with a bad 
motive, and now he returns from the church to the 
world under the influence of the same principle. 

Again ; inexperience exposes us to error. 
How many characters do the scriptures present us 
with who erred from the truth, and all for want of 
a real experience of the energy of divine grace 1 
Things novel and plausible strike the mind, and 
they who have but lictle acquaintance with divine 
subjects are easily deceived. Error too often 
bears a great resemblance to truth ; and not on- 
ly so, but, as it is too often allied with some cor« 



256 THE EVIL OF THE 

ruption in the heart, is more likely to meet with 
a, welcome reception. I do not mean to say- 
that we should not use our reasoning powers 
in the pursuit of truth, or that we should be guid- 
ed more by our feelings than by our understand- 
ing. This would be dangerous indeed. But, 
after all, what are our finest speculations, our met- 
apijy ical inquiries, our nicest perceptions, our 
deepest and most profound reasonings, without 
divine teaching ? It is this alone that gives the 
mind a right bias, which enables it both to dis- 
cern and to relish truth. Without this, we shall 
be continually wavering. Now this will strike ; 
then that. One thing will appear plausible for a 
while, then another. Thus we shall be tossed to 
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doc- 
trine, by the sleight of men, and cunning crafti- 
ness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Eph. 
iv. 14. Now a real experience arising from the 
knowledge and love of God will secure us from 
this evil. The heart will be established with 
grace ; and though those who have but just set 
out may have been betrayed into error for want of 
more knowledge and experience, yet, as the word 
of God is the standard to which they bring every 
sentiment and doctrine, their light shall increase, 
and their minds become more settled ; for " he 
that doth his will, he shall know of the doctrine 
whether it be of God." John vii. 17. To such, 
also, the Divine Spirit is promised to guide into all 
truth. John xvi. 13. 

Farther ; a want of experience exposes us to 
pride and ambition. Had the two disciples before 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE. 257 

mentioned been more experienced, they would not 
have been so desirous of such elevated situations. 
He who knows but little of his own heart, and has 
seen but little of the world, covets great things 
for himself ; seeks to move in a higher circle, 
desires to be more known ; but he is ignorant 
that, the more lofty the situation, the more dan- 
gerous his state. Corruptions which now lie dor- 
mant in his heart may then be drawn out ; and 
snares which now he knows nothing of will there 
besct him. Pride, also, is often an attendant on 
superficial talents, little experience, and ignorance 
of ourselves. How do we feel for such, when we 
hear their insignificant conversation, their vain 
boastings, their conceited talk of self-formed pro- 
jects, of mighty achievements, and superior wis- 
dom ! How does an experienced christian feel 
when he stands by and hears the talk of those 
who have hardly ever heard the wind, or felt the 
storm i What mingled emotions of pity and 
fear, of sorrow and concern, fill his breast I How 
ready is he to say, '' Did you but know how igno- 
rant the wisest think themselves ! How little is 
known when compared with what is to be known I 
How little dependence there is to be placed on 
human nature ! How contracted and feeble a crea- 
ture man is at his best estate ! How incapable 
he is either to guide or protect himself I How 
vulnerable on every side by a thousand darts poi- 
soned by the enemy ! How liable to perpetual vi- 
cissitudes ! and how generally disappointed in the 
objects which he has most set his heart upon to 
Y 



258 THE EVIL OF THE 

obtain ! Ah 1 did you but know, did you but con- 
sider, how would it check your vanity, and cool 
your ambition 1" Yes, truly, how much more 
humble is the man of experience, the man who 
l^nows his heart, who has felt the strokes of adver- 
sity, who has too often been deceived by his ene- 
mies, disappointed in his expectations from the 
creature, and suffered from his own weakness and 
infirmity ! See how quietly he walks, how cau- 
tious in every step, how unaspiring in his views, 
how suspicious of himself, how unassuming in his 
conversation ; while the young, the rash, the inex- 
perienced, on the contrary, are noisy and vain, 
turbulent and forward, self-confident, and big with 
expectations of good, which after all the world de- 
nies them, leaving them to murmur and fret over 
their own misery and folly. 

Another evil, attendant on inexperience, is a 

spirit of bigotry. Such are apt to be contracted 

and narrow minded. The religion of Christ, so 

far as it is understood, has a tendency to enlarge 

the mind, and make us candid towards others ; 

and those who have felt most of its power will be 

most disposed to be charitable and liberal. Whd 

then is it that deals in anathemas, who is ready to 

condemn all who do not exactly agree with him ! 

Who restricts salvation to his own party ; who 

claims the prerogative of thinking for himself, 

but will not allow it others ? Who, because 

others cannot see with his eyes, or believe with 

his understanding, are therefore, in his opinion, 

strangers to truth ? Is it the man of experience ? 

Is it he who knows any thing of the nature of 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE. 259 

man, and the prejudices which arise from various 
sources ? Certainly not. Experience teaches us 
to be candid. The more we are acquainted with 
ourselves, the more we shall be willmg to bear 
with others. The more the love of God is shed 
abroad in our own souls, the more love we shall feel 
for our fellow creatures. The narrow bigot in a 
corner may look with an evil eye on all who differ 
from him ; but the experienced christian is not 
an unfeeling, reserved, morose character. The 
more he knows and the longer he lives, the 
more is he convinced of the impropriety of such a 
spirit. 

It is, however, an evil into which young chris- 
tians sometimes fall. Yea, even the disciples of 
our Lord were guilty for want of more knowledge 
and experience. " John answered and said, Mas- 
ter, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and 
we forbade him." And why ? " Because he fol- 
loweth not with us." Luke ix. 49, 50. What a 
weak reason ! what a poor pretence for discourag- 
ing him ! And yet, alas ! this is the only reason 
many can give for wishing to restrain others from 
active exertions in the cause of religion and hu- 
manity. They follow not with them. They have 
not received their education where they have. 
They belong not to their community. They do 
not adopt exactly the same mode of worship as 
they do. Therefore they must be forbidden ! O 
wretched spirit of bigotry ; how evidential of ig- 
norance and inexperience ! What said the Saviour 
to^these disciples ? " Forbid him not ; for he that 
is not against us is for us." Happy would it be, if 



260 THE EVIL OF THE 

this^answer of our Lord were but more considered. 
What evils would be prevented in our churches 1 
How much more good might be done ! How 
would love and harmony prevail, the designs of 
Satan be frustrated, and the cause of God and truth 
greatly promoted 1 

Farther ; a want of experience of the power of 
divine things has been the cause not only of bigo- 
try, but what is closely allied with it, persecution. 
We should never have heard of the tortures, the 
pains, the dreadful sufferings of so many thousands 
on the account of religion, if men had been influ- 
enced by a right spirit, and experienced the grace 
of God in truth. It is no part of the religion of 
Christ to persecute others who differ from us. 
Yet where mere speculation and a false zeal have 
been placed as a substitute for real experience, we 
see what has been the consequence. Here again 
we find the very disciples of our Lord acting in- 
consistently, "It came to pass, when the time 
was come that he should be received up, he sted- 
fastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. And sent 
messengers before his face, and they went, and en- 
tered into a village of the Samaritans to make 
ready for him. And they did not receive him, 
because his face was as though he would go to 
Jerusalem And when his disciples James and 
John saw this, they said. Lord, wilt thou that we 
command fire to come down from heaven and con- 
sume them as Elias did ? But he turned and re- 
buked them and said. Ye know not what manner 
of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not 
come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE. ^jt/ 

Luke ix. 5 1 — 56. How little did they know ftfkc 
genius, and how little had they experienced of the 
power of cliristianity ! How much of pride and re- 
sentment, of Qip^cution and cruelty, were mixed 
with their zdu ! " James and John," as one ob- 
serves, " were the two disciples whom Christ 
had called Boanerges, sons of thunder, Mark iii. 
17 ; but that will not serve them : they must be 
sons of lightning too." They did not ask leave 
that they might go and preach, warn, and suitably 
reprove them. Nay, it was not enough that they 
might even threaten and alarm them. Nothing 
short of final extirpation, of entire destruction, 
was the subject of their petition 1 And what ! were 
these the disciples of Him who was all love and 
kindness ; who came to save and not to destroy ? 
Alas ! what havock would the rash and inexperi- 
enced make, if left to themselves ! Mistaking the 
design of the gospel, they would be for carrying 
every thing by violence and persecution. Accord- 
ing to their spirit, we should see nothing around 
us but monuments of divine vengeance, towns and 
kingdoms destroyed, families and individuals struck 
with deat i, and the universal conflagration taking 
place before its appointed time. Indeed, what but 
the rash zeal, the want of experience of divine lovc; 
the superstition and ignorance of men, have delug- 
ed the christian world with blood, thrown down the 
altars of others to erect their own, anathematized 
whole communities, and given the enemy reason 
to triumph and rejoice ? O how necessary to feei 
the force of christian sentiments on our hearts 1 
Y2 



262 THE EVIL OF THE 

then should we never attempt to injure and destroy 
one another. 

There is an evil which is often prevalent among 
the inexperienced, which, though not so great as 
the last mentioned, yet deserves to be reprehend- 
ed ; and that is slander and detraction. It is no 
uncommon thing to see persons who have but lit- 
tle knowledge of themselves, and whose ex- 
perience is but small, indulging themselves in this 
practice. Ignorant in a great measure of the de- 
pravity of their own hearts, a slight acquaintance 
with the wiles and snares of Satan, a too great con- 
fidence in and opinion of Jhemselves, they are 
ready to spy out the faults of others. I have 
generally found that the most superficial in true 
knowledge and genuine experience have been 
the most forward in this practice : whether it 
arises from a conviction of their own deficiency, 
and a wish to believe that all others are like them ; 
or whether from a want of self-knowledge, and a 
habit of observing the infirmities of others rather 
than their own, cannot, perhaps, be always deter- 
mined. This, however, is evident ; that in pro- 
portion as we have more experience,^ see ntiore of 
our own imperfection, know more of the nature of 
the human heart, and possess more of the chris- 
tian spirit, the less shall we be disposed to slander 
and speak evil of others ; for grace will teach us 
modesty, humility, self-diffidence, candour, and 
forbearance. Let the slanderer, therefore, re- 
member that he gives but little evidence of his 
heart being right with God, while his tongue is. 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE. 263 

employed in blasting the reputation or magnifying 
the infirmities of others. 

Lastly ; want of experience often induces men 
to undertake situations they are not qualified for, 
and thus exposes them to ruin. How does a 
truly wise and experienced man shrink back from 
situations of importance, while the inexperienced 
rush by with rapidity and confidence 1 All is easily 
done in their imagination. They stop not to con- 
sider difficulties ; and even if others have failed, 
they think they shall not. And thus they never 
know their error till it is too late. They rise with 
confidence, but they come down with shame. 
They leave the more experienced far behind : but 
they meet them with confusion on their return ; 
while many point to them, and say, " This man 
began to build, but was not able to finish.'* Luke 
xiv. 30, Ah ! how many have been wounded by, 
this, and, for want of knowledge founded on expe- 
rience at first, have so disgraced themselves, as ta 
be glad to retire again into the obscure vale, and 
to pass along unheard, unnoticed by their fellow 
travellers ! Yea, what is worse, how many, by en- 
deavouring to climb too high, have fell down, and 
been dashed to pieces ! Alas ! on how many 
tombs may we read the inscription, " Here lay the 
remains of one who was killed for want of experi- 
ence 1^' 

We have now considered a few of those evils 
attendant on inexperience, and that not only as it re- 
lates to those who know nothing of religion at all, 
but as it respects the young christian, and those 
who rest only in bare speculation or profession* 



2 64 THE EVIL OF THE 

We will now conclude this work by just making 
two or three remarks from the whole. 

Let us all learn to examine ourselves, whether we 
be in the faith. Have we passed from darkness to 
light 1 Have we ever experienced the depravity of 
our hearts, and the bitterness of sin ? Have we ev- 
er been led to see the vanity and insufficiency of 
the world to make us happy ? Have we been ena- 
bled to take up our cross, and to follow the Saviour 
through evil as well as good report ? Have we 
tasted that the Lord is gracious, renounced the 
world for his sake ; and can we now say, that he 
is our portion, and that we count all things but 
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of him ? 
These are solemn, interesting questions. Reader, 
put them to thy heart, and ask what is thy real 
state before God. 

Let us learn to be wise from the inexperience 
of others. While we look around, and see the fatal 
effects of ignorance and rashness, carelessness and 
\vant of experience, let it suggest to us caution and 
prudence, vigilance and dependence on God. As 
we behold the broken plans, the half-finished 
schemes, the painful disgrace, of those who have 
trusted to themselves, let us be suspicious of our 
own hearts. As we pass by the spots memorable 
only for the sad scenes of inexperience, let us look 
up to heaven, and say, " O Lord, keep me as the 
apple of thine eye ; hide me under the shadow of 
thy wings. How soon may 1 be numbered among 
the miserable and wretched, if not kept by thee ! 
Preserve me from all the snares of the world, and 
the temptations of the enemy. Keep me from 



WANT OF EXPERIENCE. 26^ 

rashness and folly. Give me that wisdom which 
is profitable to direct. Let me experience more of 
thy grace, which alone can hold me up, and render 
me safe." 

Let us deplore the sad case of those who are still 
enveloped in darkness, who never had any expe- 
rience of the power of divine grace. They are 
perpetually exposed to danger. Having no taste 
for heavenly things, they are continually sinning 
against God. Yea, sin is their delight, and holi- 
ness the object of their hatred. Miserable man ! 
how deplorable is thy case ! a rational, immortal 
creature, born for eternity ; yet without love to 
God, without any thought for the everlasting 
salvation of thy soul ! Stand still, and consider for 
a moment thy wretched situation. Remember, 
without experience of grace in time, there can be 
no happiness in eternity. Hear the voice of 
scripture. " Except a man be born again, he can- 
not see the kingdom of God. Without holiness, 
no man can see the Lord. He that believeth not, 
the wrath of God abideth on him.'' Jo. iii. 3. 
Heb. xii. 14. Jo. iii. 36. Cry, therefore, to God 
for mercy ; consider how short time is. A few 
more moments, and thou wilt be in eternity ! Be- 
hold now is the accepted time, now is the day of 
salvation ! May God enlighten thine eyes before- 
it be too late ! May the Holy Spirit teach thee the 
way of truth and salvation, and thus shalt thou be 
happy forever i 

Let us lament, also, that there are so many who 
are only nominal christians, who have a name to 
live, but are dead : and still more distressing to 
reflect on the case of many who are called chris- 



266 THE EVIL OF THE, Scc. 

tian ministers, and yet never feel what they 
preach ; who have never experienced any thius^ of 
the power of divine grace, but w^ho are still world- 
ly minded, vain, covetous, and disobedient. How 
dull and inanimate their preac-iini!; I How awful 
their state ! How useless their lives ! Yea. how 
fatal their example 1 Let such rtmember, that no 
speculative knowledge , no respectability of talent, 
can be a substitute ior experience. Without this, 
how can they enter into the s])ii it of their subject ? 
How address their hearers under their various 
feelings and circumstances ? How speak to him 
who knows ihe plague of his own heart ; to the 
tried, the tempted, the affiicted soul ? Brilliancy of 
genius, stores of literature, powers of eloquence, 
may shew the man, but cannot make the useful 
minister of Jesus. How necessary, then, to feel, 
to experience, in order to do good to immortal 
souls ! Let us pity and pray for those who are still 
ignorant, that the Lord may open their eyes, and 
lead them in the way of truth ; that, instead of a 
curse, they may become a blessing to mankind. 

Finally, reader, if you have felt the power of 
renovating grace, how thankful ought you to be ! 
You may surely go on your Avay rejoicing. You 
shall still experience more of his love. The rich- 
es of his grace shall be still more unfolded ; and 
you shall arrive, at last, at the mansions of glory, 
where you shall be employed in ascribing all the 
praise of your salvation to Him that sitteth upon 
the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever. 

FINIS. 



THE 

CLOSET COMPANION: 

A HELP TO SERIOUS PERSONS, 

IN THE IMPORTANT 

DUTY OF SELF-EXAMIXATIOJ^. 

INTENDED TO BE KEPT IN THE 

CHRISTIAN'S USUAL PLACE OF RETIREMENT, 



DIRECTIONS FOR SELF-EXAMINATION. 

I. MAKE conscience of fierforming this duty. The 
necessity of it v/ill appear, if you consider, (L) God 
has repeatedly commanded it. (2 ) The people of 
God have always practised it. (3.) There is great 
danger of being deceived ; for every grace in the 
christian has its counterfeit in the hypocrite (4.) 
Many professors have been deceived, by neglecting 
it, and are ruined forever. (5.) Your comfort and 
holiness depend, in a great measure, upon knowing 
your real state. 

II. Be very serious in the fierformance of it. Set 
your heart to the solemn work, as in the presence 
of the Searcher of hearts, who will judge the secrets 
of all men, in tlie great day. Heaven and hell are no 
trifles. The question before you is no less than this. 
Am I a child of wrath, or a child of God ? If I 
should die, when I have done reading this, where 
would this precious soul of mine be, forever, forever, 
forever ? 



2 THE CLOSET COMPANION. 

III. Be impartial^ or you lose your labour ; nay, 
you confirm your mistakts. On the one hand, re- 
solve to knovv the worst of yourself, the very worst. 
Some are afraid to know the worst, lest they should 
fall into despair, and this fear makes them partial. 
Suppose the worst, and that, after serious examina- 
tion, it should appear, that you have neither faith nor 
holiness, yet remember your case is not desperate. 
The door of mercy is ever open to the returning sin- 
ner. It remains a blessed truth, that whoever cometk 
to Christy shall in no wise be cast out, John vi. 37. 

On the other hand, be wilhng to know the best of 
yourself, as well as the worst. Do not suppose, that 
humility requires you to overlook your graces, and 
notice only your corruptions. 

IV. Judge of your graces by their nature^ rather 
than their degree. You are to try inherent graces by 
the touchstone^ not by the measure. The greatest de- 
gree is to be desired and aimed at, but the smallest 
degree is matter ot praise and rejoicing. Don't con- 
clude there is no grace, because there is some cor* 
ruption ; or, that the spirit does not strive against 
the flesh, because the flesh strives against the spirit. 

V. Let not the issue of this trial depend at all 
upon your knowledge of the exact time of your con- 
version^ or the particular minister or sermon first in- 
strumental in it. Some, yea, many, are wrought up- 
on by slow and insensible degrees. Grace increases 
like the day-light. No naan doubts whether the sun 
shines at noon, because he did not see the day-break. 

VI. Take this caution, lest you stumble at the 
threshold. Think not that you must begin this work 
with doubting whether God will extend mercy to 
you, and save you ; and that you must leave this a 
question wholly under debate, till you have found 



THE CLOSET COMPANION. 3 

out how to resolve it, by self-examination. This is 
a common and pernicious error, laying- the very 
foundation of this work in the great sin of unbelief. 
The question before you is not, Will God accept and 
save me, though a vile sinner, if I believe on Christ r 
But you are to inquire, Am I nonv^ at t/r's ti^ne^ hi a?i 
acce/ited state ? The former question is already re- 
solved by God himself, who cannot lie. His word 
positively declares, that every coming sinner shall 
be accepted and saved. This being determined, is 
not to be questioned. But you are to try, Whether 
you are now in a state of grace ? 

VII. Take care, that you do not trust on your 
self-examination, rather than on Christ. There is a 
proneness in our natures to put duties in the place 
of Christ. 

VII L Be not content merely to read over the 
following questions, but stop and dwell on each : nor 
suffer yourselves to proceed to another, till you have 
put the first home to your conscience, and have got 
an honest answ^er to it. 

IX. Examine yourself frequently ;y at least, once 
a week, The Lord's day evening is a most suitable 
season. The oftener you perforin this work, the 
easier it will become. If you do not obtain satisfac- 
tion at first, you may by repeated endeavours ; and a 
scriptural, solid hope will amply repay your utmost 
labour. 



N. B. The above directions are taken, in part, from that 
excellent book, Marshall on Sanctification, 

Z 



4 THE CLOSET COMPANION. 

QUESTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FAITH, 
AND THE FRUITS OF FAITH. 

I. DO I BELIEVE ON THE SoN OF GoD ? SuTcly 

this is an important question. My Bible assures me, 
that He that believeth shall be saved. Do I then be- 
lieve ? And here, let me carefully distinguish be- 
tween faith, and its fruits. M^hat i. faith ? The sim- 
ple meaning of faith is, believing ; and believing al- 
ways refers to something spoken or written. Divine 
faith is the belief of a divine testimony, as John 
speuks, lie that hath received his testimo?2y^ hath set 
to his seal that God is fRUE. John iii. 33. And on 
the contrary, the apostle John says, He that believeth 
not God^ hath made him a liar, because he believeth not 
the record that God gave of his Son, And this is the 
record, that God ha^h given ro us eternal life^ 
and this life is in his Son. 1 John v. 10, 11. I must 
first believe the truth of God, as revealed in his 
word ; I must credit his report, and believe his tes- 
timony concerning Christ ; and then, receive and 
trust tiflon Christ J so revealed, for my own personal 
salvation. But to be more particular : 

1. Do 1 really believe that I am a fallen crea- 
ture—that I derived from Adam a nature wholly 
corrupt, depraved, and sinful — and that I am a child 
of wrath, by nature, even as others ?"-Have 1 ever 
considered the unspotted and infinite purity and holi- 
ness of God's nature, and that he abhors, detests, and 
hates sin, wherever he sees it ? Have I considered 
that his law, contained in the ten commandments is 
a copy and transcript of that holy nature ; and by 
comparing myself with that eternal rule of right and 
wrong, have I been led to see my horrible wicked- 
ness and vileness ? — O what miultitudes of sins have 
I committed, in thought, word, and deed ! — Am I 
really sick of sin, soi;ry for sin, and do I abhor my- 
self as a vile sinner ? 



THE CLOSET COMPANION. 5 

2. Have I duly considered what my sins have de- 
served ? — Do I sincerely think that if God were to 
send 7nc to hell, because I am a sinner^ he would do 
justly ? 

3. Do I see my utter Iiel^ilcssncss^ as well as my 
sir. and misery ? — Am I perfectly assured, that I can- 
not by any works, duties, or sufferings of my own, in 
the least help myself ; but that if ever 1 am saved, 
it must be the effect of free mercy 1 

4. Are the eyes of my understanding enlighten- 
ed, to know Christ ? — What do I think of Christ ? 
Wh.o is he ?-— Do I believe that he is God manifest 
in the Jicsh^ uniting in his one person the human and 
divine natures ? Man^ that he might suffer *, and 
God^ that he might redeem ?"-Do I know nx)hy he 
suffered ; that it was to make satisfaction to divine 
justice, for the injury done to God's law and govern- 
ment, by man's sin ? — Do I believe, that the Father 
is well pleased for h:s righteousness^ sake ; and that he 
has magnified the law^ both by his obedience and suf- 
ferings, and made it honourable .?— Do 1 therefore 
look upon Christ, as the only way to the father ; as 
the only foundation to build on, the only fountain 
to wash in ?— Am I persuaded of his ability to save, 
to the uttermost, all who come to God by him ? 

5. Am I satisfied from God's own word and 
promise, that whoever, let them be ever so vile 
and wicked, coming to Christ, by faith, shall be sav- 
ed ? the promise being, without exception, Whosoev- 
er believeih on him shall not be ashamed, 

6. Am I led and assisted by the Spirit of God, to 
believe this general promise, in my oivn particular 
case ? As God has made no exceptions, why should 
I except myself ? True, no tongue can tell how vile 
I have been : only God knows the greatness of my 
sins, and the wickedness of my heart ! But shall I 
then despair^ and so add, to my other sins, the worst 
and greatest sin of all, UNBELIEF I God forbid I 



6 THE CLOSET COMPANION. 

It 7S a faithful sayings and worthy of my accefitatioUy 
that Christ came to save the chief of sinners. Do I 
then, sensible of my sid, misery and helplessness, 
look upon Christ as an all-sufficient Saviour, and 
commit my precious, immortal soul to him, relying 
upon him 07ily^ and endeavouring to rely upon him 
confidently^ for eternal salvation ? — If so, surely I 
am a believer, and shall receive the end of my faith, 
the salvation of my soul. 

Having thus examined my faith, let me proceed 
impartially to examine the fruits and effects of 
MY faith. Many pretend to faith, whose works 
give the lie to their pretensions ; let me therefore 
i.he-iv my faith by my works, James ii. 18. 

Quest. II. What are the fruits of my 
FAiTi-i ? Does it produce those effects which the 
word of God points out, as the proof and evidence 
of its sincerity, with respect to my conscience^ my 
hearty and my life ? 

1. Jl'hat are the effects of my faith^ as to my con- 
science ? The scripture says, We which have believed 
do enter into rest, Heb. iv. 3. Do I rest from my for- 
mer legal attempts to justify myself, going about to 
establish my own righteousness? Am I satisfied with 
Christ's righteousness, as a complete title to glory ? 
I read oi peace in believing. Have I peace in my con- 
science ? Beiniv justified by faith, have I peace with 
God? — When my soul is alarmed with the remem- 
brance of former sins, or those lately committed, 
how do I obtain peace ? Is it by forgetting them as 
soon as I can, and then fancying that God has for- 
gotten them too ? — Is it by resolving to do so no 
more, and so making future obedience atone for 
past offences ? — Is it by performing religious duties, 
and so making amends ? — Or, is it by a fresh appli- 
cation to the pardoning, peace-speaking blood of 
Christ ?— iWhen my sins stare me in the face, and 
my duties themselves appear sins, whence, O my 



THE CLOSET COMPANION. 7 

soul, proceeds thy comfort ? — ^s it the blood of Christy 
my Sacrifice, that purges my conscience from dead 
works ? — Does faith in the atonement of his death 
free me from the dreadful apprehension of condem- 
nation and wrath, due to sin ? — Do I, or do I not 
believe that God is reconciled^ through the death of 
his Son, and therefore look up to him with freedom 
and delight ? — If I have not this peace, why is it ? 
What hinders I Either I do not clearly understand 
the nature of the gospel, or I do not fully believe it : 
for it provides for every possible cjise. If I have 
this, blessed be God for it ! Lord, help me to keep 
it, that it may keep me ! Lord, 1 believe ; help thou 
mine unbelief ! 

2. / would try^ what are the effects of my Faith^ 
as to my heart, audits affections. 

(1.) JJo I love God, God the Father ? Do I 
think of him, and go to him as a loving Father, ia 
Christ ? Have I the spirit of adoption, so that I cry, 
Mba^ Father ? — Do 1 love him as the Father of 
mercies, the God of hope, the God of peace, if 
God of love ? 

(2.) Do I love Christ ? — To those who believe, 
he is precious : Is he precious to me ? — Do I see 
infinite beauty in his person ? Is he the chief among 
ten thousands to me, and altogether lovely ? — Do I 
admire the length, and breadth, and depth, and 
height of his love ? — Is it the language of my very 
soul, JN^one but Chrtst^ JVone but Chnst ? — Is it my 
grief and shame, that I love him no more ? 

(3.) Do I love the Holy Spirit ? (Rom. xv. 30.) 
Do I honour him, as the great Author of light and 
life, grace and comfort ? Do I maintain a deep sense 
of my dependence on his divine agency, in all my 
religious performances ? Do I desire my heart to be 
his temple ? — Am I cautious lest I quench his holy 
motions, or grieve him by my sins ? Am I sensible, 
that without his influences I cannot pray, hear, 
read, communicate, nor examine myself as I ought ? 



o THE CLOSET COMPANION. 

(4 ) Do I love God's law ?— Do I delight in the 
law of the Lord, after the inward man, not wishing it 
less strict and holy, but loving it because it is holy ?— 
Am I as willing to take Christ for my King to rule 
over me, as for my Priest to atone for me ?— Do I 
hunger and thirst after righteousness I — Do 1 pant, 
and long, and pray to be holy ?---Do I wish to be ho- 
ly, as I wish to be happy ? Do I hate all sin, especial- 
ly that sin which most easily besets me, and labour 
daily to mortify it, and to deny myself ? Do I sigh 
for complete deliverance from remaining corruption, 
and rejoice in the hope of it, through a holy Jesus ?— 
Do I long for heaven, that there I may be satisfied 
with his likeness ? 

(5.) Do I love God's people ^ — Can I say to 
Christ as Ruth to JVaomi^ Thy iieoftle shall be fny fteo- 
file .?— -Do I love them, because they love Christ, and 
bear his image ?- — Do I feel an union of spirit with 
them, though they may not be of my party, or think 
exactly as I do ?— Can I say, / know that I have 
passed from death to life^ because I love the brethren ? 

3. What are the effects of my fait h^ as to my daily 
WALK and conversation .^— The word of God tells 
me, that he who is in Christ, is a new creature ; old 
things are passed away ^ all things are become new. — 
If ye love me^ said Christ, keefi my commandments. 
Let me review the decalogue, and see how my love 
to Christ is manifested by my obedience. 

(1.) Do 1 know and acknowledge God to be the 
only true God, and^ ;?«/ God, and do I worship and 
glorify him accordingly ? Is he the supreme Ob- 
ject oi 77iy desire and delight ?"-Do I trust him, hope 
in him, love to think of him ?— Do I pray to him, do 
I praise him, am I careful to please him ? 

(2.) Do 1 receive, observe, and keep pure and en- 
tire all such religious worship and ordinances as God 
hath appointed in his word ? How is it with me in 



.x# 



THE CLOSET COMPANION. 9 

secret prayer, in family prayer, in public prayer ?— 
With what views do I go to hear the preached gos- 
pel and what good do I get by it ? 

(3.) Do I make a holy and reverend use of God's 
names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word and works, 
avoiding the profanation or abuse of any thing where- 
by God makes himself known ? 

(4.) Do I keep holy to God the Sabbath day, rest- 
ing all that day from worldly employments, recrea- 
tions and conversation ? And do I spend the whole 
time in public and private exercises of divine wor- 
ship, except so much as is to be taken up in the 
works' of necessity and mercy ? Is the Sabbath my 
delight, and are the ordinances of God's house very 
precious to my soul ^ 

(5.) Do I endeavour to preserve the honour, and 
perform all the duties, which I owe to my superi- 
ors^ inferiors or Equals ; remembering, that true re- 
ligion makes good husbands, wives, children, mas- 
ters and servants ? If I am really holy, I am relative- 
ly holy. 

(6.) Do I use all lawful means to preserve my own 
life, and the life of others ? Do I avoid all intemper- 
ance ?— Do I resist passionate tempers ?— Do I 
labour to promote the welfare of men^s souls ? — Do 
I exercise love, compassion, and succour to the 
poor and distressed, according to my ability ? Can 
I, and do I freely forgive those who have injured 
me ? Can I, and do I, pray for them ; and instead 
of hating, do 1 love my very enemies ? 

(7.) Do I earnestly strive to^eserve my own, 
and my neighbour's chastity, in neUrtj speech^ and 
behaviour ; avoiding all the incentives to lust, such 
as intemperance in food, lascivious songs, books, 
pictures, dancings, plays, and debauched company ; 
remembering that my body is the temple of the 
Holy Ghost ? 



10 THE CLOSET COMPANION 

% 

(8.) Do I use the lawful means of moderately 
procuring and furthering the wealth and outward es- 
tate of myself, and others ?-"Do I ab^^'^r every spe- 
cies of robbery and injustice ? — Am x jtrictly and 
conscientiously honest in all my dealings, not over- 
reaching or defrauding any person, in any degree ? 

(9.) Do I studiously maintain and promote 
TRUTH, between man and man ; not only abhorring 
perjury, but hating all falsehood ? And do I, as a 
professor of religion, avoid both ludicrous and per- 
nicious lies, being as tender of my neighbour's 
character as of my own ?--Am I very cautious in 
making promises, and very careful to keep them ? 

(10.) Am I contented with the condition God 
has allotted me, believing that he orders all things 
for thf? best ?-— And do I avoid, as much as possible, 
envyiiiig my neighbour's happiness, or inordinately 
desiring anv thing that is his ? 

Con elusion,'] And now, dear reader, what is the 
result of your inquiry ? Have you made a solemn, 
pause, at the close of every question, and obtained an 
honest answer ? And are you, notwithstanding many 
unhallowed imperfections, able to conclude, that your 
faith is of God's operation ; and proved so to be, 
by its holy fruits of peace, love, and obedience ?— 
Then take the comfort, and give God the glory. 

But if, on the other hand, the evidence of scripture 
find conscience is against you, and you are forced to 
conclude, that your heart is not riglit with God — then, 
for God's sake, and for your soul's sake, cry instant- 
ly and mightily to him to have mercy upon you, and 
change your heart ; remembering, that though your 
case is awful, it is not desperate ; and that still you, 
even you, coming to Christ, shall in no wise be cast 
out. ' G. B. 



6 91 'i| 



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